Former India player-turned-commentator Cheteshwar Pujara has also applauded Mohammed Siraj for picking up two important wickets on Day 1 of the first Test against South Africa. He also appreciated the right-arm seamer for dismissing Marco Jansen with an excellent setup as well. Siraj registered figures of 2/47 in 12 overs as well.
During a discussion on Star Sports, Pujara said, “He did an excellent setup. In his second spell, he was trying to bowl every ball on the stumps. He was trying to bring every ball in. Before Marco Jansen got out, he even bowled two bouncers to him. One was a wide for sure, but a tall batter always has in his mind that a bouncer can come anytime. Jansen has difficulties against the short ball.”
“His feet didn’t move on that ball as they should have. The ball was good, but as a batter, can you not play that ball? You can definitely play, but his leg went in front of middle and leg. His leg had opened up. You do that in white-ball cricket and not in red-ball cricket. So, excellent bowling, but the bouncer was playing on Jansen’s mind, and that’s why his front foot didn’t move,” Pujara shared.
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However, former India opener Aakash Chopra also praised Mohammed Siraj for learning from an indifferent first spell as well.
“You play for India because you bowl well and pick up wickets, but to go beyond that, you need to know how to pick up wickets on which wicket, and what should be your game plan against which batter. You get that maturity only by bowling, and that is clearly visible. He figured it out after the first spell wasn’t good,” he said.
“He was talking about pushing the batter back and then bringing the ball in after pitching it up. There was never any question about his hard work. The commitment is 120 percent, if that’s possible. Based on what we saw in England and the two series after that, the maturity to take wickets is also being seen. The understanding is also there,” Cheteshwar Pujara concluded.
