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Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt feels that, apart from Mohammed Siraj, the other Indian bowlers lacked bite on Day 3 of the Lord’s Test against England. Butt reckoned that when there is not much on offer from the surface, pacers need to try extra hard, which wasn’t the case with India on Saturday.
Resuming their innings on 119 for 3, England ended up posting 391 as skipper Joe Root remained unbeaten on 180. For India, Siraj claimed 4 for 94 while Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami picked up three and two wickets respectively.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Butt opined that India’s bowling performance on Day 3 at Lord’s wasn’t up to the mark. He explained:
“India has a quality bowling attack. But they looked helpless against Joe Root. Only Mohammed Siraj looked effective and troubled the England batters. The body language of the other Indian bowlers was flat. When there is not enough assistance from the pitch, you need to create opportunities through your attitude, your length and aggression. India had a decent total on the board and England were under pressure as well. But the aggression element was missing from Indian bowlers. Siraj was putting in extra effort but the others bowled within themselves. Lot of credit to Root for it.”
Butt, however, added that India can still make a match out of it if they bat well on Sunday and the bowlers rise to the occasion on Day 5. He said:
“If India have 270 to defend on the last day, like Siraj, the other Indian bowlers will also need to put in that extra effort. Remember, this is a Dukes ball so something or the other will happen with it. Pacers will need to bend their back. A lot will depend on what India do with the bat (in their second innings).”
Mohammed Siraj spills the beans on his ‘finger on lips’ celebration
Siraj has been celebrating his wickets against England by putting a finger on his lips. While his style has led to mixed reactions, the bowler has revealed the reason behind his interesting celebration. At a press conference following the third day’s play, Siraj explained:
“This story (celebration) is for the haters (critics) because they used to say a lot of things about me, like he cannot do this and cannot do that. So, I will only let my ball do the talking and hence this is my new style of celebration.”
The 27-year-old has claimed seven wickets in the Test series so far at an average of 32.29.
