Mohammed Siraj was on fire in the morning session of Day 1 in the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town.
Dean Elgar, in his last Test, was made to rue his decision of batting first after winning the toss early on as South Africa slumped to 34/6 with Siraj taking a stunning five-wicket haul. This was the third five-fer for Siraj in his Test career.
Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah were right on the money from the first over. Siraj first dismissed Aiden Markram with an outswinger, as he had done in Centurion as well. But the biggest celebrations for Siraj and the Indian players were reserved for Dean Elgar’s dismissal, who had scored 185 in Centurion.
This time, though, the South African opener could only score 4 runs as he inside-edged a delivery from Mohammed Siraj on his stumps. Siraj angled the ball across to the left-hander. Seeing some width, Elgar went after it with a cut shot but got an inside edge and the ball rattled into the stumps.
While Elgar was upset to get out for a low score in the first innings of what is his career’s last Test match, Siraj was pumped up, even more than usual. Siraj channeled his aggression and let out a big roar in the celebration of Elgar’s wicket, for, he and the Indians knew how important the wicket was.
Watch: Aggressive celebration from Mohammed Siraj on dismissal of Dean Elgar
Knocked ‘em overrrr!
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| | /#MohammedSiraj has every reason to celebrate, as he cleverly sets up #DeanElgar and gets the big fish! 💥Tune-in to #SAvIND 2nd Test
LIVE NOW | Star Sports Network#Cricket pic.twitter.com/EGX6XxZsSu— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 3, 2024
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South Africa lose 7; Siraj gets six
While Bumrah was rested after a 6-over first spell, Rohit Sharma didn’t stop Mohammed Siraj from bowling. And why would he? Because the pacer kept coming and taking wickets. He bowled 9 overs on a trot, and returned with sensational figures of 6/15. These are now the third-best figures by an Indian bowler in a Test in South Africa.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar
South Africa (Playing XI): Dean Elgar(c), Aiden Markram, Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne(w), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi
Also Read: Tristan Stubbs Falls After Rohit Sharma Moves To Short Leg After A Chat With Virat Kohli
