ENG vs IND | Twitter remembers Jota after Siraj flashes 20 to mark his first scalp of Lord's encounter

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Mohammed Siraj seemingly paid tribute to deceased footballer Diogo Jota, against England at Lord's on Friday

In a sport said to be the gentleman's game, poignancy has been a recurring theme over the years amidst the occasional chaos and hostility. Mohammed Siraj added to the folklore at Lord's on Friday when he signalled 20 with his hands after a wicket, possibly as tribute to former footballer Diogo Jota.

England lost three wickets early on Day 2 at Lord's as Jasprit Bumrah ran rampant with the second new-ball but a clinical quick half-century from Jamie Smith pushed the score past 350. The wicket-keeper batter was destined to return to the dugout early when Mohammed Siraj had him nick one to second slip but KL Rahul let slip a sitter and Smith needed no second invitation to capitalize. However, things came a full-circle when the Indian right-arm quick produced a jaffa to get another tickle off the Surrey batter's willow that was swallowed up without ado for Dhruv Jurel, ending the nearly run-a-ball 51 run knock. Even though the mini-battle between two of their team's mainstays made for a fascinating narrative in itself, it was Siraj's celebration that followed that had the world talking.

Usually the exalting kind that likes to celebrate any success with fist pumps and screams of ecstacy, Siraj uncharacteristically presented a calm figure despite the significance of the scalp at such a crucial juncture of the encounter. The veteran pacer simply turned around in his follow through and quite deliberately raised two fingers on hand while shaping the other mitt into a zero, followed by a quiet look and prayer aimed at the heavens.

Twitterati was quick to indicate that the celebration was most likely a tribute to Diogo Jota, a former Portuguese footballer that recently lost his life in a car accident along with brother Andre Silva.

Finally

𝐍𝐨 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐃𝐒𝐏 😉 survived once, but no escape this time from ! 👀

Will bundle England out under 400? 🤔 👉 3rd TEST, DAY 2 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar 👉
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia)

Tribute

A TRIBUTE TO DIOGO JOTA BY SIRAJ 🥺❤️
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns)

Incredible

Siraj with a tribute to Diogo Jota 😭😭

You have my heart ❤️

Thank you sir
— BeardedDragon (@yashasva)

Moment

SIRAJ TRIBUTE TO DIAGO JOTA LOOK AT THE HEAVEN

MOMENT OF THE DAY❤️❤️

— DIVYANSH CHAUHAN (@Imchauhan28)

Too good

MOMENT OF THE DAY ❤️

- A TRIBUTE TO DIOGO JOTA BY SIRAJ & LOOKING AT THE HEAVEN.
— Praveen kumar (@Naninaidu98)

Homage

Mohammed Siraj pays homage to Diogo Jota after picking up a wicket
— Devnath NS (@Devnath_NS)

Heartfelt

MOMENT OF THE DAY ❤️

A heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota by Mohammad Siraj, looking up to the heavens.⁰Pure emotion. A moment that transcends the game.⁰

— Kavya Maran (@Kavya_Maran_SRH)

Sweet