Mohammad Siraj Excels on Dead Pitch to Grow as a Fast Bowler

Mohammad Siraj leading a young pace attack was slowly realizing the magnitude of the moment with crucial and relatively easier WTC Points on the line. West Indies though aware of the difficulty to push for a win were keen on batting time. A dead track making life tough for Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja made it easier for the West Indies batters to hold the Indian bowling attack.

Often such moments had India in a huge spot of bother in the past. With an unresponsive pitch and stubborn batters, India have often found themselves struggling for ideas and inspiration. It happened in the WTC Finals when India were reluctant to bowl short to a Travis Head who had India completely on the back foot.

While the Stubborn batters may be lower in quality when compared to the likes of Travis Head and Steve Smith, the inspiration from Mohammad Siraj does come as a good sign. Statistically he is one of the toughest quick bowlers to face at the moment with the false shots he creates. His aggression with the ball and as a personality to has helped fuel his bowling further making him a force even on the raging turners in Nagpur and Delhi.

On the fourth morning though, with West Indies stubborn to not make things easy for India Mohammad Siraj had to turn the game around. He found a way to get the ball moving and with the new ball still doing its tricks, Siraj got a fair bit of deliveries to cut into batters with subtle changes in length. After being around in Test cricket for 2 and a half years, Mohammad Siraj, with a spell that got him moving the ball of a tough length sees him find his way as a complete fast bowler.

3.4 overs is all it took as he managed to pick up the four wickets to break the West Indies resistance with Mukesh Kumar supporting him from the other end. While the series may be seen as an easy one with respect to the stage of their opponents Mohammad Siraj, without Shami and Bumrah will know that he has grown enough to handle a pace attack overseas.