Team India put pressure on England early on day two of the fourth Test played at The Oval. England were reduced to 62/5 but managed to reach 290 riding on half-centuries from Ollie Pope and Chris Woakes.
All five bowlers picked wickets for India. Umesh Yadav led the way with three wickets, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja picked two wickets while Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur took one scalp each.
Former India player VVS Laxman said that Thakur and Siraj did not look threatening enough. He was particularly concerned with Siraj as his pace has been dropping ever since he claimed eight wickets at Lord’s. The former batsman felt that the pacer had picked a niggle or was tired.
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"Shardul Thakur doesn't look penetrative and, somewhere down the line, I feel (Mohammed) Siraj is carrying a niggle. Not very often you see him bowling below 130. Either that, or he is tired. That's why the bulk of the bowling is being done by Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav. Kohli will have to find a way to utilise Siraj," Laxman said on ESPNCricinfo.
"It was evident even in the way he bowled at Headingley. He was charging in at Nottingham and Lord's. When he bowled on the last day at Lord's, when he got those four wickets, he had a lot of energy and intensity. It was missing when he bowled the third or fourth spell at Headingley. Right from the first ball he bowled yesterday, it looked like he was carrying a niggle,” he added.
Siraj has been impressive ever since his debut in Australia earlier this year. He has taken 30 wickets in 9 Tests and has only gotten better with every match. It was not surprising to Laxman if the pacer was indeed tired.
"It can happen. Someone who is bowling with that kind of intensity, you can feel exhausted at the end of three Test matches. In all those matches, he has bowled his heart out. Virat Kohli needs to find a way to utilise Siraj better and rotate the bowlers around," Laxman added.
India ended day two at 43/0, still trailing by 56 runs in the second innings.
