Port of Spain: India point guard Mohammed Siraj is confident spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will prove to be more than a handful for West Indies batting on the final day of the second Test on Monday and help the visitors wipe out the two-game series. India, having set a target of 365 for the hosts to tie the series, had West Indies struggling at 76/2 at the stumps on day four with veteran spinner Ashwin taking both wickets on Sunday.
The Caribbean side still need to score 289 runs to claim an unlikely win on Monday with the wicket assistant spinners. “The way the wicket behaves, Ashwin I think will cross the West Indies batter… The ball is spinning,” Siraj said late in the day after India declared their innings at 181/2 and then got rid of dangerous West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk McKenzie to leave the hosts struggling.
Siraj also revealed that it was India’s strategy to strike aggressively in the second set and quickly set up a big goal for the home side. Indian batters especially Ishan Kishan played T20 style cricket with 52 balls from just 34 balls.
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“Yes, Ishan is an aggressive hitter. Rishabh Pant is not there so as a wicket keeper he (Ishan) is able to replace the loss of Pant to some extent if not completely. He has the ability to hit the ball long and hard. He has the ability to punch all around the ground. We had enough runs on the board (first innings in the lead) so our plan was to score that many runs (runs in second innings) in a short time and then (after the declaration) we would be able to get more overs to eliminate West Indies,” he added.
Most wickets of Indian bowlers in international cricket:
1) Anil Kumble – 956
2) Ravichandran Ashwin – 712*
3) Harbhajan Singh – 711 pic.twitter.com/cHD0qTTBT8– Jeans. (@CricCrazyJohns) July 24, 2023
Siraj caught a five for in the opening innings which helped India eliminate West Indies for 255 in response to the visitors’ 438, and Siraj said bowling relentlessly in these conditions was not easy.
“I would rate my performance very high because it’s not easy to take five wickets from a flat wicket. I had a plan laid out, especially when the ball started swinging upside down, I executed my line and length perfectly. My plan was simple… As the balloon wasn’t doing much, I kept it stump to stump and also drifted a seam,” he added.
He added that it was not easy to bowl in hot and humid conditions with frequent rain breaks. “When you go for long periods in this heat and humidity, it’s not easy. Then intermittent rains and getting hot again and again after each break of rain, it was very difficult.
Siraj added that he was proud to have become the mainstay of India’s bowling unit in the span of two and a half years.
With Jasprit Bumraj recovering from a back injury and Mohammed Shami resting for the West Indies series, the pressure is on Siraj to deliver and the speedy 29-year-old did not disappoint. “To be honest, I feel very good when I have a responsibility, when no (senior) person is around. When I have responsibilities on my shoulders, I like it a lot and I like to accept challenges,” Siraj said.
Pacer Mukesh Kumar’s bowling 23 times and winning two wickets so far in his debut match also drew praise from Siraj, who said the 29-year-old bowler adapted easily to the flat track here as he had played a lot from docile wickets in domestic cricket.
“Mukesh is not a new player. He regularly plays in Ranji Trophy and plays on difficult wickets. It is not easy to take wickets in Ranji Trophy, where the wickets are even flatter than that of Port of Spain.
“Playing domestic cricket is a huge achievement, then coming here and controlling his nerves is not easy. He is playing his first match for India and that too a test and he is playing long spells,” Siraj added.