IND vs WI: Mohammed Siraj Declares Himself The Leader Of The Pack In Jasprit Bumrah And Mohammed Shami's Absence

Mohammed Siraj, on Sunday (July 23), led Team India’s attack with the ball brilliantly as his career-best spell has put the team on the brink of an impressive win in the ongoing second Test against West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.

The right-arm pacer picked up five wickets for just 60 runs as India bowled out West Indies for 255. At 229 for 5 at one stage, the hosts were looking set to post a 300-plus total. Mohammed Siraj, however, completely turned things around for India by dismantling West Indies. He just blew West Indies’ lower order away as the home side lost its last five wickets for just 26 runs.

Also Read: MLC 2023: Watch: 4, 6, 6, 4, 6: Nicholas Pooran Smashes Three Sixes In Four Balls As MI New York Chase Down 160 In Just 15.3 Overs

The latest spell is yet another example of Mohammed Siraj’s immense talent with the ball and his ability to produce match-winning spells in any condition. In a series where the pacers have struggled on slower tracks, Mohammed Siraj showed his class on the fourth day of the ongoing Test.

Mohammed Siraj on leading India’s pace attack:

With Jasprit Bumrah out due to injury and Mohammed Shami rested for the series, the responsibility of leading the pace attack was on Mohammed Siraj. And the pacer has said that he is enjoying the new responsibility. The right-arm pacer has said that he likes taking up challenges and is enjoying the responsibility of leading the attack.

“To be honest, I feel really good when you are given an extra responsibility. It’s a great feeling and it’s a challenge too. When no one else is there, I have to get on the ground and show some responsibility. I like accepting this challenge,” Mohammed Siraj told the media after the fourth day’s play.

Speaking further, Mohammed Siraj backed India’s bowling coach Paras Mhambrey’s comments about the pitch. At the end of the third day’s play, Mhambrey had lamented the slow nature of the surface at the Queen’s Park Oval.

“First of all, this performance was really good because it’s not easy to take a five-fer on such a flat wicket. The pitch wasn’t doing much. I wanted to keep it stump to stump. From there if it seams, it’s really good. That was my plan, just to keep executing this simple plan.

“Today [Sunday] we had a relatively new ball too, so it was swinging. Tomorrow we’ll start with an older ball, we’ll have to keep simple plans, not give away too many runs and just keep building the pressure,” he said.

Meanwhile, West Indies were on 76 for 2 at stumps on day four. The hosts need 289 runs more to win the Test while India will need 8 wickets to sweep the two-match series.

Also Read: IND vs WI: Ravichandran Ashwin And Ravindra Jadeja Become The Second Indian Pair To Pick Up 500 Wickets Together In Tests