The fiery Indian seamer, Mohammed Siraj pointed out the importance of having a batter having patience when a batter-like Jonny Bairstow gets going as he did on Sunday on Day 3 of the fifth and final Test match of the Pataudi Trophy series at Edgbaston. However, Siraj also showered praises on the star Indian batter at the end of the proceedings on the third evening while saying that he gets irritated bowling to him in his comparison with Bairstow.
The England batter came out all guns blazing against India on Day 3 as he single-handedly helped England avoid follow-on on an otherwise worrisome batting day for the hosts. He played a fiery knock of 106 off 140, his third straight century in Test cricket after back-to-back centuries against New Zealand last month and fifth in the 2022 calendar year.
Mohammed Siraj, who is India’s leading wicket-taker in the Edgbaston Test, acknowledged that the bowlers remained unfazed over Bairstow’s knock.
WATCH – Ben Stokes Bowled A Jaffa To Virat Kohli To Increase His Troubles In The Rough Patch
Elaborating the same, Mohammed Siraj said, “As bowlers, we had to just keep patience. Bairstow is in form and he has been continuously playing attacking batting since the New Zealand series. So we were aware his confidence was high. Our plan was simple, stick to our basics.”
He further elaborated, “We just kept believing in our ability, no matter what he did, it was a matter of one ball – be it an inswinger or seaming in off the pitch. In England, it is common to beat a batter multiple times, you just need to be patient and concentrate on your process.”
Despite Bairstow’s efforts, India took a hefty first-innings lead of 284 runs, and then, the visitors added 125 runs more to the board, for the loss of three wickets, hence taking an overall lead of 257 so far. At stumps, Cheteshwar Pujara was batting on 50 alongside Rishabh Pant (30 batting) and Siraj was full of praise for the veteran batter, hailing him as a “warrior”.
ALSO READ: Jonny Bairstow Not Displeased After His Banter With Virat Kohli
Describing the same, Mohammed Siraj said, “He (Pujara) is a warrior. In Australia, he did it and here also, he is doing the job. Whenever the team requires, he always stands up. When the tough situation arises, he is always there to do the job. Exactly, bowling to him is difficult, he does not attack much and just keeps on leaving balls so that can get irritating in the nets.”
