India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has been in sensational form with the red ball this season. He has consistently been among the top wicket-takers in the domestic circuit and also in international matches with the ‘A’ team. The Hyderabad pacer is quickly gaining a reputation as a long-term Test prospect and he strengthened that belief with another super effort against Australia ‘A’.
Playing the unofficial Test for India ‘A’ in Bengaluru, Siraj snared 8-59 against the Aussies as the Indians restricted the visitors to 243 in the first innings after they were well-placed at 204-4 at one stage.
He picked up one more wicket in the second innings by stumps on day two on Monday, with nine Australian wickets left.
It has been a superb year for the 24-year-old. In the last five first-class matches, Siraj has picked up an incredible 38 wickets against top teams. There is still one more innings to go against Australia ‘A’ and one of the five matches – against South Africa ‘A’ – had just one bowling innings.
Meanwhile in India, Mohammad Siraj has taken 8 wickets in an outstanding spell of fast bowling for India A against Australia A. 8/59 , he has been bowling quite impressively in recent times.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) September 2, 2018
Siraj picked up eight wickets against the West Indies ‘A’ in England in July, seven against the England Lions, 10 against South Africa ‘A’ in Bengaluru and four in one innings against the same opposition.
With nine wickets already in the bag against the Aussies, Siraj is forcing the selectors to pick him for red-ball assignments later in the year.
Siraj has played three T20 matches for India and was unimpressive in them, going for over 12 an over. But it’s red ball cricket where he thrives. His first-class record now stands at 95 wickets from 20 matches which comes to around five per match which is brilliant for a subcontinent pacer.
