All years are becoming about events and commemorations. At a time when social media has a vested interest in driving ‘engagement’, no button is left unpressed. There is a premium on creating moments (‘#OTD or On This Day) which can be memed, commemorated, outraged over, wept about and giggled at, all to draw our attention – but rarely are there quality commemorations.

Yesterday was different. Acting legend Guru Dutt’s centenary and India’s closest ever cricket test victory in its 93 year history, hung together on several media feeds.

And then there was ‘Miyan’ Mohammed Siraj, the feisty and expressive one, who took five wickets and bowled more than 1,100 deliveries (185.3 overs). He was seen doing something that brought the two worlds – Guru Dutt and cricket – together in a most dramatic way.

Check out these two images.

It was a dramatic contrast. Despite looking like Guru Dutt’s ‘Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye to kya hai’ pose from Pyasa (1957), this young, bubbling and completely ‘Naya Team India’ had its arms wide open, in sublime delight, telling the world the opposite – that it was embracing it all, with no apologies to Guru Dutt - celebrating the fullness of life, claiming every inch of what they had clinched in their grasp with effort, tenacity and flair.

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Never mind the defeats and near-misses of sloping grounds at the ‘Home of Cricket’ when India lost by 22 runs as Mohammad Siraj crumbled after the ball he had faced suddenly crawled across and kissed a stump. Never mind the larger concerns this young team has been battling, under a surly coach, if it would be able to escape humiliation in England. Whether the 24-year old skipper would be able to come good and lead, after all, thought nervous cricket nerds, he is no Virat, he is not even a Rohit.

Then there was the peculiar India problem.

Cricket, like its cinema, is so central to the fact of being Indian, that these days it finds itself soaked in the toxic politics of our country. These are moments like the National Award for Kerala Story which bring the poison straight up to the top. In cricket, you had the ICC chief, also ex BCCI head and son of Amit Shah – Jay Shah – leave out the name of Siraj in a post when without his contribution India would not have made it at Edgbaston. Or the inexplicable decision to retire the India-England Pataudi trophy. A new medal, which the Pataudi name now adorns, could have been ‘Anderson-Tendulkar’ instead of the trophy. But no – it was necessary to become like NCERT textbooks, and wipe off Pataudi.

After all, how could memory be allowed to linger about a smart Nawab called Iftikhar Ali Khan who was the only Indian to have played for both England and India, and whose son, ‘Tiger’ Mansoor Ali Khan, rocked the show with one eye and at 21 become the youngest ever cricket captain. Tiger Pataudi, was also key in instilling national pride and unity in Indian cricket. Bishan Singh Bedi called him “the best thing to have happened to Indian cricket,” crediting him for breaking regional barriers and creating a sense of “Indian-ness” in the dressing room.

But in days like yesterday, cricket, precisely as it carries so much of the burden and beauty of being India, representing India, can draw up moments that can unite the world’s largest nation. These unifying moments happen in the face of incredible odds, despite the attempts to constantly keep it bitter, divided and hateful.

At no point in this series did India look the lesser side. But it still seemed bound, limited, despite its obvious potential and top performances. Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s heroics that drew the previous match, and Captain Shubman Gill’s consistent batting prowess are only some of the many instances of pure gold that converted many T20 fans to the real thing, Test Cricket. If England’s Chris Woakes’ coming out one-armed to stand with his team was exemplary, then Rishabh Pant’s gritty and painful fightback that shone the sun on the team was out of this world.

It is perhaps inevitable that all that ails India would come to ail cricket too – after all, what do those know who only of cricket know. The chequered careers of Shami or the non-selection of Sarfaraz Khan in the team despite his stunning performances in the domestic season are food for thought because of the political capture of the BCCI. It has always been hostage to the dreams and patronage of politicians but there was space for all shades of them. The singular intent of trying to milk it for the BJP’s benefit was revealed in first the stationing of the Home Minister’s son in a position he is clearly so ill-suited for. Only recently, the magnificent Sharda Ugra broke a story for The Wire about BCCI trying to change the Indian blue to orange during the World Cup in 2023. The denials only went on to confirm the intent which was aborted. How cricket was bearing the scars of our vitiated politics became clearest when in 2021 the former test opener Wasim Jaffer was accused by the Uttarakhand cricket association of misusing his position as head coach and ‘introducing communal bias’ in selections. Very few, if any came out to support Jaffer and he resigned after holding a press conference to clear his name.

The son of an autorickshaw driver, Siraj began playing the game in Class 7, and since then has been in a class of his own. His bowling has been about both pace and swing and he mastered the English conditions to deliver what it takes to scalp bails off with remarkable consistency. Yesterday, Stuart Broad revealed that Mohammad Siraj was called ‘Mr Angry’ in the English dressing room, but also conceded that he was, "Incredibly skillful, not just fire and heart." Sunil Gavaskar commended his staying power, stamina and desire to wear the Indian cap as exemplary and something the team needs to learn from. 1994-born Siraj is no spring chicken.

Siraj, the Hyderabadi ‘Miyan’ as he is affectionately called, has Cristiano Ronaldo as his cellphone screen image with ‘Believe’ writ large on it. He would have needed a lot of ‘believe’ to live through being dropped last year. He would have drawn from Pataudi too, perhaps, who despite the ignominy of having the trophy named after him snatched, was also a Hyderabad man for a decade, between 1965 and 1975. Siraj would certainly have been inspired by Pataudi’s ability to be so good, “with just one eye”.

Mohammed Siraj and Shubman Gill, both incidentally, from minority communities in India in 2025, found it in themselves to lead their team in a magnificent cricket series, ending a very tough summer at 2-2. There were times when it was needless to say all this about India’s victories. It was considered cliched and a yawn. But when a diverse India romps home to victory in 2025 in a six-run clincher, then Siraj, with arms wide open and head thrown back, must be celebrated for all kinds of reasons that flow from beyond the Oval.

Guru Dutt can step back. There is plenty in the duniya to be savoured. It is Siraj’s moment. He has shown what it means to claim and hold the world in his grip.

This piece was first published on The India Cable – a premium newsletter from The Wire & Galileo Ideas – and has been updated and republished here. To subscribe to The India Cable, click here.

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