No Jasprit Bumrah, no worries – Mohammed Siraj is here. The 28-year-old Royal Challengers Bangalore seamer filled Bumrah’s role at the start of innings to a very much desired extent in the third ODI against England at Old Trafford.
There were plenty of concern and agitation among Indian fans when skipper Rohit Sharma announced at Bumrah, their star fast bowler, was ruled out of the Manchester ODI due to back spasms, and that it is Mohammed Siraj who will replace the spearhead pacer in the eleven.
Siraj hasn’t had a great time recently with a disappointing IPL 2022 campaign and then putting an underwire performance in the Edgbaston Test earlier this month.
Mohammed Siraj fills shoes of Jasprit Bumrah in the powerplay
These palpitations of the fans further heightened when England opener Jason Roy swatted three boundaries in the first over of the match to Mohammed Shami to get England going and ease down the early nerves of a series-decider.
However, Siraj thundered in and, in his first over on ODI comeback, the seamer delivered a gut-wrenching blow for the hosts as he got rid of both Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root for ducks – similar to the result that Bumrah had caonsigned the pair in the first ODI.
On the first two balls to Bairstow, Siraj kept the line outside off-stump. On the third, he came into the batsman who tried to work it on the legside by closing the bat face but managed a leading edge which flew to mid-off where substitute fielder Shreyas Iyer took one of the easiest catches of his career.
Root was done by Siraj via a beauty. Another superb ball that angled into Root pitching on off-stump and he had to play at it. Upon pitching the ball seamed away slightly but that was enough to take the outside edge of Root’s bat and Rohit Sharma safely pouched a catch at second slip.
Siraj and the Indian players were off and running wildly as he had dismissed England’s two most in-form batsmen for ducks!
You can watch the dismissals here:
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