Mohammed Siraj grabs 8/59 to serve reminder to selectors

In the last one-and-half months, Hyderabad pacer Mohammed Siraj has claimed 41 wickets in the long and short formats of the game.
Mohammed Siraj
Mohammed Siraj

BENGALURU: In the last one-and-half months, Hyderabad pacer Mohammed Siraj has claimed 41 wickets in the long and short formats of the game. Considered to be a white-ball bowler who played three T20Is, he is more successful with the red one, having taken 29 wickets in his last four games. But it wasn’t enough to win him a place in the Asia Cup squad.

Siraj isn’t perturbed. He wants to let his ball do the talking. The 24-year-old is happy to play the waiting game. Sunday was no different. Siraj ripped apart Australia A’s batting on Day 1 of their four-day match and returned career-best figures of 8/59 in 19.3 overs. His in-swingers troubled all but opener Usman Khawaja (127). The left-hander’s resistance came to an end when he was caught behind off Siraj.

“I think it’s form and confidence that made him unplayable. He has been taking wickets and done well in the last two months. Today, he was disciplined and came up with a simple game plan. It worked excellently for him and his team,” Khawaja said.

On a wicket which was rather slow, Siraj made merry with reverse swing after an opening stand of 78 between Khawaja and Kurtis Patterson. Patterson was his first victim, Travis Head, Peter Handscomb and Mitchell Marsh all bore the brunt of his fiery spell. Khawaja with youngster Marnus Labuschagne (60) stitched a 114-run fifth-wicket stand, but Siraj struck in his third spell, grabbing three more.

“The wicket was slow and my aim was to keep the ball in good areas. I kept doing that patiently and it worked,” said Siraj. “I don’t do anything out of the box. If I face problems, I call Bharathi Arun sir (India bowling coach) and he helps a lot.”

Brief scores: Australia A 243 (Khawaja 127, Labuschagne 60; Siraj 8/59) vs India A 41/0.

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