After a Man of the Series performance in England, Mohammad Siraj has continued his good form in the first Test between India and the West Indies. He has picked up seven wickets in the game. It was his spell on Day 1 that rattled the West Indian batters and played a critical role in them getting bowled out for 166 runs. However, come Day 3 pitch was not as kind as it was on Day 1 for the seamers, and Siraj acknowledged that the ball was stopping on the surface, and taking three wickets on that one is equivalent to five wickets.
“Feeling very happy, we did well with both bat and ball. The wicket was slow in the 2nd innings, it just wasn’t coming onto the bat, felt like taking 5 wickets here (despite grabbing 3). I didn’t know that (on being told it’s the first time he took wickets in a 2nd innings in India), it’s a special feeling. The batting was good, everyone took responsibility, KL has been making runs since the England tour, Shubman has been good and so have the others,” Siraj said to the broadcasters after the game.
India has had three centurions in their batting innings. KL Rahul scored his first century on home soil after nine years, Dhruv Jurel, who has been warming the bench has slammed his maiden ton, and Ravindra Jadeja continued his good form too by registering another ton and followed it up by picking up four wickets.
Jadeja was also named the Player Of the Match for his performance in the game. “I have been working hard with my batting. We had a two-month off, there was no Test cricket or ODIs. I was working on my fitness and I went to the Centre of Excellence in Bangalore, worked on my skills and fitness there. Yeah, absolutely (on his recent batting form). I had been batting at number 8 and 9 a few years ago but now I got my place at 6. I have time to prepare myself and I can pace my innings. I don’t need to hurry, I don’t need to rush unnecessarily. I can go out there, take my time and just pace my innings,” Jadeja said.
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