Former left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan lauded Mohammad Siraj for his ‘game-changing’ spell in the Mumbai Test against New Zealand. After Ajaz Patel’s 10-fer bowled out India for 325 in the first innings, Siraj came with a scorching spell with the new ball dismissing Will Young, Tom Latham, and Ross Taylor to give the Kiwi camp early jitters.
Speaking to Ballebazi.com users, Zaheer opined the delivery Siraj bowled to clean up Ross Taylor was “magical”.
“Another game-changing spell was by Siraj when he took 3 early wickets in his 1st spell. On a pitch that is assisting only spinners, pulling off a magical wicket like that of Ross Taylor was amazing. It was great to see Siraj playing to his strengths and attacking the 3 wickets in view,” Zaheer said.
Siraj’s performance in the Mumbai Test coupled with his debut show in Australia, and later in England has compelled several cricket legends to focus their attention on the Hyderabad fast bowler.
For instance, VVS Laxman, while speaking on Star Sport, also heaped praise on Siraj’s style of bowling with the perfect lengths and consistent seam that he adopted on the Wankhede surface. “He is a great asset to this Indian team. Make no mistake… he is one of the world’s best at the moment," he said.
Skipper Virat Kohli himself noted that Siraj’s confidence since his Test debut in Australia has grown tenfold and has reflected in his performances in other formats as well. Recently, the pacer was retained alongside Kohli and Glenn Maxwell by Royal Challengers Bangalore ahead of the IPL mega auctions.
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