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Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj downplayed his disappointing bowling effort in the 2023 World Cup match against Afghanistan, stating that everyone is bound to have an off day in the office. He also said that one poor game cannot make him a bad bowler.
While India thumped Afghanistan by eight wickets in Delhi, Siraj was expensive, conceding 76 runs in nine overs, without claiming a wicket. He, however, lifted his performance in the big match against Pakistan in Ahmedabad on Saturday, October 14, claiming 2/50 from eight overs. The right-arm pacer got the wickets of opener Abdullah Shafique (20) and Pakistan captain Babar Azam (50).
Siraj’s scalps came after he looked out of rhythm in the first couple of overs against Pakistan as well. Asked about the brief phase when he looked out of sorts and the last game, the Indian pacer said:
“When we go to office, sometimes we have an off day - it cannot always be the same performance every time, the graph always comes down. So, what I think is that I am not a bad bowler because of one match. I always keep my confidence high because I know my bowling is good and I have also been the number one bowler [in ICC rankings].
“This confidence helps me in my bowling. I can't be a bad bowler because of one bad match. I backed myself to do well and got the result today,” he added.
The 29-year-old also spoke about bowling cross seam very early in his spell. He explained:
“I started from the 3rd over because, in the end, there could have been chances of reverse. When I was bowling with the straight seam, it was coming onto the bat easily. The batsmen were not struggling at all. So, I thought to bowl cross seam. On this wicket, the ball can sometimes keep low and sometimes you get extra bounce. So, I tried that and managed to get the results."
Apart from Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja also claimed two wickets each as India bundled out Pakistan for 191.
“The ball didn't keep low” - Siraj on delivery that dismissed Babar Azam
Siraj disagreed with the observation that the delivery that bowled Babar kept low. He opined that an error of judgment on the part of the Pakistan skipper cost him his wicket.
“The ball didn't keep low. The ball was pitched in front and he tried to play it behind [square]. That's why he was late and the ball skidded a little, nothing else,” Siraj explained.
He also added that he wanted to break the Babar-Mohammad Rizwan partnership, knowing the batters to follow could be put under pressure.
“Yes, because when their partnership was going well. When I was called on to bowl, I had a plan to take a wicket. I knew if we broke the partnership, the new batsman will be under pressure. I got that wicket and after that, they collapsed,” the right-arm pacer concluded.
Pakistan were 155/2 when Babar was bowled in the 30th over. They lost eight wickets for 36 runs to crumble to 191 all out in 42.5 overs.
