Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Mohammed Siraj's 4-wicket haul vs England in Rajkot Test ft. Dinesh Karthik

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj showcased fine form on Day 3 of the ongoing third Test between India and England at Rajkot’s Niranjan Shah Stadium. He finished with a four-wicket haul and helped India bowl out the visitors for 319 in their first innings.

Siraj finished with figures of 4/84 in 21.1 overs as Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, and James Anderson fell prey to the 29-year-old’s pace. While wreaking havoc on the field, Siraj also achieved a significant milestone and completed 150 wickets in international cricket.

After sustaining an injury while batting in the first innings, Siraj bounced back and made an impact with the ball. Cricket experts reserved high praise for Siraj as he delivered a game-changing spell to keep his side in the lead.

Here are some of the top reactions:

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#5 Anil Kumble

Former India cricketer Anil Kumble lauded Siraj’s improved performance on Day 3 of the Rajkot Test, which induced England’s collapse and helped India maintain a first innings lead.

Speaking on Jio Cinema during Tea on Day 3, Kumble stated:

“I think what was impressive about Siraj and this spell today was his consistent line and length, which wasn't there yesterday. Of course, the batters took him on with the new ball. He was trying a bit too much. Maybe today, he just thought, let me just go both line and length, wicket to wicket. Yes, the field that was set, had enough sort of catching positions and just kept at bowling the stump.”

“Credit to Siraj for his consistent line and length, and you can see that from the pitch map as well. You know, all of that, uh, pitch map, the balls that he has bowl has been in and around the good landmarks. So if you go there consistently on an Indian pitch, if you're a fast bowler, Bumrah has shown you don't need too many variations. But if you're all over the place and the line and length is not consistent, then it doesn't matter how many variations you have,” he added.

Kumble praised Siraj for maintaining the line and length and lauded his approach, which helped him remain consistent and use the pitch to his advantage.

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#4 Aakash Chopra

Former India opener Aakash Chopra hailed Siraj for his exploits and dubbed his spell game-changing. In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said:

“Miyan Magic (Mohammed Siraj) was fantastic. He picked up four wickets. Long spells were required to be bowled as there were only four bowlers. The Indian team decided that they would bowl only the fast bowlers from one end.”

“So Bumrah's spell was followed by Mohammed Siraj's spell. He changed the game because there isn't that much help for the fast bowlers on this pitch. It is a slightly slow pitch. The ball is not going fast after pitching,” he added.

Chopra also noted that Siraj picked up wickets on a slightly slow pitch, which did not provide much assistance to fast bowlers.

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#3 Pragyan Ojha

Former India spinner Pragyan Ojha dubbed Siraj a “leader by his own standards” while praising him for his spell. During a discussion on Cricbuzz Chatter, he said:

“When you’re put in a corner and when you know that you’ve proved costly in the last session of the previous day, you try to improve. He has the ability and experience to pull it off. He has bowled in similar circumstances earlier. Take his spell against Australia as an example. The way he bowled there. He was very young but was given the role of the leader of the pact and he aced it.”

“Siraj is by no means a 2nd fiddle, he is a leader by his own standards. He bowled in the right areas, and if you know Siraj, you know he places importance on hitting the right areas. He knew England had been feeling the pressure in that area, because they had lost back-to-back wickets, and thus he came and racked up wickets for his team,” Ojha added.

Ojha also recalled Siraj’s spell against Australia, and how he led the young Indian bowling unit to keep his side alive in the game before eventually winning the all-important Border Gavaskar Trophy down under.

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#2 Mohammad Kaif

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif praised the Hyderabad-born bowler and other bowlers for their efforts as a unit. On his X (formerly Twitter) account, he wrote:

“Apna Siraj Aag hai, Aag! 🔥The team needed someone to step up in the absence of their senior most bowler and look how the entire bowling unit has responded. This is for Ashwin from the team. #IndvEng.”

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#1 Dinesh Karthik

Indian cricketer and commentator Dinesh Karthik lauded Siraj and the other Indian bowlers for stepping up and taking responsibility in veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s absence.

In a conversation with Michael Vaughan on Cricbuzz, Karthik said:

“In the post-match interview, Siraj said that when Ashwin went away, the responsibility came on us, the four bowlers to make it work, and they bowled beautifully. It started with Bumrah and Kuldeep but Siraj- a lovely spell, got the ball to reverse, and hold good lengths, I think it was all about the other bowlers setting it up and him coming and moping up the tail.”

“The ball that he delivered to Rehan Ahmed will be something that he will be really proud of and that is going to be a ball that he is going to need for the next two months in white-ball cricket as well, as long as he’s able to pull that, it should be less worries for the team. But he bowled a real nice spell, with the ball coming in, tailing back in," Karthik further stated.

The Indian wicketkeeper-batter also spoke about the areas that Siraj could improve in, while also appreciating the work that he has carried out so far with the ball. On the same lines, Karthik said:

“He’s someone who has done really well in Test cricket, it was good to see him come back to some rhythm because in Hyderabad I thought he was a bit off-color. I’d love to see him add a couple of yards more pace which was something he was doing. He’s one of those guys who enjoys Test cricket a lot more than the white-ball format which tells you a lot about the man.”