'It gets irritating in nets. He doesn't attack': Siraj names India batter who is more difficult to bowl than Bairstow

Siraj was more in praise for star India batter at the end of the proceedings on the third evening while saying that bowling to him gets more "irritating" in his comparison with Bairstow.

Star India pacer Mohammed Siraj stressed on the importance of patience when a batter gets into the form that Jonny Bairstow showed on Sunday on Day 3 of the fifth and final Test match of the Pataudi Trophy series at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground. However, Siraj was more in praise for star India batter at the end of the proceedings on the third evening while saying that bowling to him gets more "irritating" in his comparison with Bairstow.

Mohammed Siraj with his teammates; Jonny Bairstow

The England batter went hammer and tongs against India on Day 3 as he single-handedly helped England avoid follow-on on an otherwise worrisome batting day for the hosts. He scored 106 off 140, his third straight century in Test cricket after back-to-back tons in the two-match New Zealand series last month and fifth in the 2022 calendar year, laced with 14 boundaries and two sixes during his entertaining knock.

Siraj, who is India's leading wicket-taker in this Test match, admitted that the bowlers remained unfazed over Bairstow's knock.

"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," Siraj said after the third day's play on Sunday.

"Our plan was simple, stick to our basics. 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," he added.

Despite Bairstow's efforts, India gained a first-innings lead after England were folded for 284. India then 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".

"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," Siraj said.