Mohammed Siraj Shines with Six Wickets in Second Test Against England

Siraj's Stellar Performance Leads India
Indian fast bowler Mohammed Siraj expressed his delight at leading the bowling attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, achieving an impressive six wickets on the third day of the second Test against England on Friday, which he described as 'incredible.'
Siraj's exceptional bowling has significantly strengthened India's grip on the match. England was making a swift comeback with aggressive centuries from Jamie Smith (184 not out off 207 balls) and Harry Brook (158 off 234 balls), but Siraj's six wickets for 70 runs put India in a commanding position.
After the day's play, Siraj remarked, 'It's incredible because I've been waiting for a performance like this for a long time. I was bowling well but not taking wickets. Taking six wickets here is very special.'
In the second over of the day, Siraj took two wickets in quick succession, leaving half of the England team back in the pavilion for just 84 runs. However, Brook and Smith then staged a remarkable recovery, putting together a partnership of 303 runs off 368 balls.
The 31-year-old from Hyderabad returned to dismiss lower-order batsmen, as England was all out for 407 in response to India's massive total of 587 runs. Siraj noted that maintaining discipline was crucial due to the slow nature of the pitch.
He stated, 'The wicket was very slow, but when you are given the responsibility to lead the attack, my goal was to bowl with discipline in the right direction. My mindset was to bowl tightly and not concede runs.'
With Bumrah rested for this Test, Siraj is leading a relatively inexperienced pace attack, which includes bowlers like Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna.
He added, 'This is Akash Deep's third or fourth match, and the same goes for Prasidh, so I focused on putting pressure on the batsmen. I want to try different things, but I need to maintain consistency in my bowling.' When asked about his impressive record while bowling in Bumrah's absence, Siraj said, 'I enjoy responsibility; I relish the challenge.'