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Cricket PlayersIND vs NZ: 'We feel absence of Bumrah and Shami less when Mohammed Siraj is there'- Ex-India opener lauds pacer's spell
IND vs NZ 2nd Test: Former India opener was all praise for Mohammed Siraj's venomous spell, saying that he didn't allow anyone to miss the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
Mohammed Siraj missed the first Test due to a split webbing in his hand, sustained during the T20Is series, but made the most of his opportunity in the second India-New Zealand Test at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai by bagging an impressive three-wicket haul. The spell was applauded by various experts in the fraternity and the latest to jump on the bandwagon is Aakash Chopra.
After India posted 325, courtesy of Mayank Agarwal's 150 and Ajaz Patel bagged all 10 wickets, Mohammed Siraj ran through the Black Caps' top order to leave them reeling at 17/3.
His first victim was Will Young (4), followed by stand-in skipper Tom Lathan (10) and Ross Taylor (1). The delivery to Taylor was the most impressive as he called it his “dream ball”.
Former India Chopra, during a discussion on Star Sports, quipped that Siraj didn't let anyone miss anyone, especially the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.
“He did not allow us to miss anyone. We didn't talk about Ishant being injured, we didn't talk about Bumrah and Shami not playing, about whom we might have talked about in the last match. We feel the absence of Bumrah and Shami less when Mohammed Siraj is there,” claimed Chopra
Commenting on the Taylor dismissal, he said:
"But it's not just that. You can come running hard and bowl with passion but you need skill to take wickets at this level and he has that skill. The ball with which he dismissed Ross Taylor was almost unplayable, moved little, as much as it was required to move."
Talking about Latham's wicket, Chopra commented:
"He bowled two consecutive bouncers to Tom Latham and told him to forget Kanpur, that this is Wankhede, he had not played there but is playing here. The fielder was also kept in the deep for this thing only."
New Zealand eventually folded for 62 and by Stumps, openers Cheteshwar Pujara (29*), and Mayank Agarwal (38*) remained unbeaten and took India to 69, increasing the lead to 332 runs.
