“He bowled the ball of the game to Ben Stokes” - Former England legendary pacer's huge remark on Indian star after ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former England pacer Stuart Broad has praised Mohammed Siraj for his efforts in the second Test at Birmingham. India beat the hosts by a massive margin of 336 runs to level the series 1-1 following their defeat in the opening Test.

Talking on Sky Sports, Broad opined that the Indian pacer probably bowled the ball of the game to dismiss England captain Ben Stokes in the first innings. The short-pitched delievery caught Stokes completely off-guard and he could only parry it to the wicketkeeper.

"Mohammed Siraj, talks have been about that added responsibility, no Bumrah, he seems to attack really nicely. Bowls with aggression, emotion, and I think Gill captained him really well. Fired him up at the right time. He bowled what I can almost say ball of the game to Ben Stokes. First up, short, going across him, pace, and when you go and pick up 20 wickets on a pitch where your team scores so many runs its a great feeling," Broad said. (2:06)

In the same conversation, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara lauded Shubman Gill for his terrific display in the second Test.

"I think he's got his game arrangement spot on. Knows where his off-stump is, has a very simple technique of playing the ball. Leaves the stump open, no complications. Doesn't try to play too many flowery shots either and he just keeps repeating the process time after time. Great forward stride, really good on the short ball, compact, and just delivers. So early in his career, in the UK, will give him loads of confidence. Everyone else will be looking at him to lead that batting attack saying great lesson for us," he remarked. (1:01)

Gill led from the front with the bat, making 269 runs in the first innings and following it up with 161 in the second.

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Kumar Sangakkara slams England's batting after defeat in second Test

Sangakkara also slammed England for their batting in the second innings of the second Test and felt the visitors played on their ego by setting them a near-impossible target.

"96 overs for England to bat. 106 if overs weren't lost. That's quite a poor performance. I think India were wary of England's ability to chase down scores so they delayed it. But at the same they also kind of played on England's ego, the fact that they said they'll chase anything down. Once you are set with a target like that, play your shots but also be a little circumspect because you know leading into the last day you want to give yourself the best opportunity to make a decision where do you go for it or do you bat and then assess at a certain point of time," he said in the discussion on Sky Sports. (4:27)

Sangakkara also questioned the home team's adaptability when star batter Joe Root falls early.

"When Root goes early I don't think there's a change of gears from the rest of the side that can match the changing tempo of a difficult Test match like this. So Root not getting many runs is an issue but that means there is a question mark in terms of England's adaptability to a situation like this," he added.

The hosts, set a target of 608 in the fourth innings, were bowled out for just 271. First-innings hero Jamie Smith once again top-scored with 88 but had very little support from the others.