India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj starred with the ball on Day 2 of the opening Test against Bangladesh at Chattogram.
After posting 404/10 in their first innings, the visitors reduced the hosts to 133/8 and Siraj was the wrecker-in-chief with the ball, returning with the figures of 3 for 14 in his 9 overs.
Najmul Hossain Shanto (0), Litton Das (24) and Zakir Hasan (20) were his victims. But it was Litton’s wicket that caught everyone’s attention.
During the 14th over of Bangladesh’s innings, Siraj walked towards Litton and the duo exchanged a few words. Before things could have gone out of hands, the on-field umpire intervened and stopped a charging Litton Das as Siraj walked towards his run-up.
On the very next delivery, Siraj knocked over Litton and made a finger-on-the-lips gesture.
After the end of second day’s play, the Indian pacer spoke about the incident in the post-match press conference.
When asked what he said to the Bangladesh batter, Siraj quipped: “No, nothing. I said, ‘Ye T20 format nahi hai, ye Test cricket hai (this isn’t T20, this is Test cricket. Play sensible cricket.'”
Mohammed Siraj attributed his success to bowling consistent line and length.
“I’m more consistent in red ball because it’s all about concentrating on line and length. The credit goes to all the bowlers,” he stated.
“My approach was to bowl consistently at one place because it is such a wicket that if you try more there are chances to leak runs. My only plan was to hit one spot and got successful.”
According to Siraj, a fast bowler needs to bowl stump-to-stump to get success in the longest format of the game.
“I think the more you bowl stump line it is better, because sometimes it is getting lower from there as well as turning. For a fast bowler, it is better to bowl stump line because then you can have LBW chances,” he said.
Earlier, the Indian lower-order did a brilliant job with the bat. The likes of R Ashwin (58), Kuldeep Yadav (40) and Umesh Yadav (15 not out) made handy contributions to take the tourists past the 400-run mark.
“Runs from the lower-order is always good for the team, so everyone is showing interest in practice sessions. They (lower-order batters) want to do well,” Siraj said.
(With PTI/HT inputs)
