In the just finished second Test match against the West Indies, India pacer Mohammed Siraj claimed that each wicket he claimed felt like a fifer on an unresponsive pitch.
Siraj claimed three wickets in the first Test which India won by seven wickets to finish a 2-0 series thumping of the Caribbean team. He took seven wickets in the first Test match in Ahmedabad.
During Team India’s dressing room awards, Siraj was named the “Impact Player of the Series.”
“To be honest this series very went well. When we played in Ahmedabad, there was some help for the fast bowlers. In New Delhi, we had to bowl a lot of overs. Every wicket (that I took) felt like five wickets,” Siraj said in a video shared by the BCCI.
“As a fast bowler, when you get rewarded after putting in the efforts you gain a lot of confidence and you also feel happy after winning the Impact Player award in the dressing room,” he added.
Siraj, who has long been the star of the Indian fast bowling attack, declared that Test cricket is his favorite format and pledged to continue to perform well.
“I feel very proud as a person after any achievement. I will try to continue with such performances because Test cricket is my favourite format,” he said.
“There are so many challenges in it, you have to be on the field the whole day and you have to do it physically and mentally. It’s very different but it also makes me feel proud and have fun,” Siraj added.
When announcing Siraj’s honor in the dressing room, India wicketkeeper-batter N Jagadeesan called the fast bowler “impeccable” for his exceptional dedication.
“Obviously, there have been a lot of performances in this series, great performances, but now it’s just about one guy who has been impeccable throughout this series,” Jagadeesan said.
“(The one) who has a lot of vigour, courage and aggression every time the ball was thrown to him. (Be it) first innings, (or) second innings, (or the) third spell or even for example the wicket that we played on today, he was so good.”
As a leader in the camp, Jagadeesan emphasized Siraj’s on-field demeanor. “Every time he came on he had the same and more importantly, he was probably the one when there was good effort on the field he was the first one to go and pat everyone on the back and encourage them,” he added.
