- By Namrata Vijay
- Sat, 02 Aug 2025 09:58 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
IND vs ENG 5th Test: When Mohammed Siraj dismatled Harry Brook's stumps with the help of the inside edge on Day 2, he brought up his usual Cristiano Ronaldo post-goal pirouette celebration. Hailing from Hyderabad and a huge Cristiano fan, Siraj became the highest wicket-getter of the ongoing series and also rose to the occasion in Jasprit Bumrah's absence and helped the side bounce back.
He does boast of brilliant skills, and that gets overshadowed by the size of his heart. Whether during rain interruptions or playing under bright sunshine or on bowler-friendly pitches, or suffering heartbreaking defeats, he has bowled in ball after ball and over after over, and his intensity never came down, and neither did he express his frustration throughout this series. He was seen shrugging off his shoulders after dropping catches, but remained energetic to bowl long spells and also motivated his fellow teammates and threw himself out as if his life depended on it. In a lot of ways, he became the engine of the team along with Rishabh Pant.
The Day was all about Siraj's heroics and the way he stood up in Bumrah's absence. The Gujarat Titans' star pacer proved his worth, and Bumrah himself acknowledged his effort of being a successful bowler. And whenever Bumrah hasn't played in this series, Siraj was at his absolute best, as he spearheaded India's pace attack from the front.
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Siraj loves to grab everyone's eyeballs but isn't desperate for it. He loves taking wickets because it uplifts his mood, but at the same time, he also knows how to draw the line, mostly because even though he might be aggressive, he isn't malicious. Something is charming about his simplicity, but batters have a hard time facing him as he is always coming up with new tricks, like the scrambled seam delivery, which has helped him take wickets at regular intervals.
A lot of batters seem to freeze when they are facing him.
A catalyst in Bumrah's absence
Whenever he is bowling with Bumrah, he immediately plays the role of a second fiddle. Siraj is considered the workhorse to Bumrah's brilliance and has performed without any complaints. In Bumrah's absence, Siraj brings out the beast in him. After playing in 25 Test matches with Bumrah, he has taken 74 wickets at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 57.3. And whenever he plays without Bumrah, he has taken 44 wickets after playing in 16 matches and at a staggering strike rate of 25.59, and his strike rate also goes down by 2 overs, and he has taken a wicket every 42.25 balls. It's unbelievable, and that's what the teammates love about him.
Bumrah has reached that point in his career where bowling more than a five-over spell is considered an overload. He puts his best foot forward in those five overs, but such is the condition of his body that letting him bowl in the sixth over is considered risky.