It turns out that Mohammed Siraj, the guy behind the new look, is now backed by nothing more than a motivational speech by Ravindra Jadeja, another senior team member, and a photo of Cristiano Ronaldo with the words “Believe” on it as his phone wallpaper. Siraj had been flattened by a spell in Lord s that threw him off rhythm and came back to The Oval with a point to prove.

What was this famous ‘wallpaper’?

On the morning of August 4, when he looked on that same wallpaper and reminded himself once again of his own self, that mojo flickered once again, it was more than a motivational screen, it became a mantra: ‘Believe’. Later, media was openly revealed the wallpaper with his saying, “I said to myself, I will do it in the country”. As he knocked down the last wicket, Siraj made a Cristiano like movement of putting out his tongue and making his well known and memorable sounding gesture of Siuuu, which is the aftermath of a Harold force on his mind brought by a Ronaldo image and as a recognition of his most effective motivator. This motivation was at a crucial time by Jadeja: just focus on the struggles that your late father had to go through. You have to do it because of him, because that tapped into a very personal motivation that left Siraj with steel in his spine. With that conviction, Siraj produced an impactful jaw dropping performance of his own: 5 wickets (against 104 runs) to complete a monster 9 wicket match haul, and lead to a monumental 2-2 series draw that not many were expecting. As England required only 35 runs with four wickets in hand, precision of Siraj ruined their hopes and left them in the state of shock.

The story of how Siraj went through depression to a triumph as a cricketing hero imparted on the cricket lovers a larger lesson that mind can be as potent as speed to overcome the obstacles. Nearly worn out at the end of the day, he only said, “Body is fine… I play because it is my country.” Typical of his silent determination. This will be a moment to live in memory as much more than a breathtaking cricketing achievement but as one in which a wallpaper and an aptly placed word are more than enough to alter the history of a sport.

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