Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has said that, apart from India speedster Mohammed Siraj, the other Indian bowlers lacked the attitude on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test against England. He also added that when there is not much help from the surface, pace bowlers should try extra hard as well.
After resuming their innings on 119 for 3, England ended up scoring 391 as captain Joe Root remained unbeaten on 180. For India, Siraj picked up 4 for 94 whereas Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami took three and two wickets respectively. While speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt said that India’s bowling performance on Day 3 at Lord’s wasn’t good enough as well.
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He explained: “India has a quality bowling attack. But they looked helpless against Joe Root. Only Mohammed Siraj looked effective and troubled the England batters. The body language of the other Indian bowlers was flat. When there is not enough assistance from the pitch, you need to create opportunities through your attitude, your length and aggression. India had a decent total on the board and England were under pressure as well. But the aggression element was missing from Indian bowlers. Siraj was putting in extra effort but the others bowled within themselves. Lot of credit to Root for it.”
“If India have 270 to defend on the last day, like Siraj, the other Indian bowlers will also need to put in that extra effort. Remember, this is a Dukes ball so something or the other will happen with it. Pacers will need to bend their back. A lot will depend on what India do with the bat (in their second innings),” Salman Butt again shared.
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Meanwhile, Mohammed Siraj was seen celebrating his wickets by putting a finger on his lips. While his style has become a matter of debate, he has revealed the reason behind this celebration. At a press conference after the third day’s play, Siraj explained: “This story (celebration) is for the haters (critics) because they used to say a lot of things about me, like he cannot do this and cannot do that. So, I will only let my ball do the talking and hence this is my new style of celebration.”
