The Indian team took a commanding lead of 1-0 in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, outclassing their rivals in all fronts. India, in the first encounter of this five-part series, claimed victory of 295 runs over Australia at Perth. Filling in as stand-in Captain, Bumrah quite stood up to the expectations of the fans in terms of taking us eight wickets in two innings. Along with him was the strong support of fellow pacer Mohammed Siraj who went on to claim five wickets and troubled Australian batters with his pace.
In the first Test, it must be said to be a hugely successful return for Siraj, who had been in a bit of a lean patch prior to this match. The 30-year-old failed miserably in marking any imprint in the three Tests played at home against New Zealand, before heading to the competition.
Siraj was at his most promising completely and delivered as per his full potential. When he was asked about his improvement, Siraj credited Bumrah for sharing some valuable words with him.
“I’m happy with my bowling both here and in Perth. For the last few months, though, I’ve felt as if I were not getting enough wickets, and I think in that desperation my line and length got a bit affected. I thought deeply about this and came to understand that when I enjoy bowling, then the wickets usually come.”I’m in that state again now,” Siraj said to Sportstar.
“‘Jassy-bhai’ told me,’focus on your consistency rather than worry about wickets,’ said Siraj adding that he has also spoken to B. Arun (former Indian bowling coach) who said the same thing: concentrate more on skills and not too much on wickets.
Bounce on Australian pitches makes a bowler excited, but one should focus on line and length, stated Siraj.
“That made me feel sometimes as if I should hit onto the helmet of the batter. The point is not to get hyped and just to bowl to your plans,” Siraj said.
“Well, the pink ball feels somewhat synthetic in your hand; otherwise, not much difference really. They say it moves under lights; well, we bowled first here, maybe we will get that feel from Adelaide during the second Test,” he added.
This border-gavaskar trophy’s second test will be held from December 06 onwards at the Adelaide ground between India and Australia.
