Mohammed Siraj, the Indian pacer believed that India has dominated all three days of the fifth Test match between India and England, currently being played at Edgbaston.

At the end of the third day, India put on 125/3, leading the hosts by 257 runs. Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant are on the crease and have partnered for 50 runs for 91 balls already, making sure that India did not collapse once again, against the James Anderson-led attack.

Mohammed Siraj: India Dominated First 3 Days

Earlier in the day, the hosts were rescued by a brilliant knock from the in-form Jonny Bairstow, who looked like a man on a mission after getting into an altercation with Virat Kohli. Mohammed Siraj said that India needed to keep patience with Jonny Bairstow given he has been running at such a stunning speck of form.

“We need to keep patience against Bairstow. He was attacking so we stuck to our basic planning. We had the belief in our ability.”

Jonny Bairstow is the world’s leading scorer in Test cricket this year with 880 runs – including five hundred – at an average of 67.69 in 2022, and scored 394 runs off 328 balls against New Zealand, including 77 and 95-ball centuries at Trent Bridge and Headingley respectively. His strike rate against New Zealand (120.12) was the second-highest in Test history by a batter scoring more than 300 runs in a series. He followed it up with a 106 against India.

Mohammed Siraj Lost His Outswing After IPL 2022 And Is Working Hard On Bowling Inswing

Speaking about himself, Mohammed Siraj mentioned that he has not been able to find the outswinger in his arsenal, something that was a real weapon in the earlier red-ball series. While, not a prolific swinger of the ball, Mohammed Siraj had the ability to straighten it up after pitching, which put the batsmen in trouble.

“After the IPL I lost the outswing so I worked hard on the swing. It might look great to bowl outswing but it might not fetch you too many wickets. So I had to work on bowling inswing as well.“

Mohammed Siraj failed to put up a praiseworthy performance in this year’s IPL 2022. In 15 games, he managed to pick up only 9 wickets and had an economy rate of more than 10 runs per over. Before the start of the season, Mohammed Siraj was one of the three players retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore-RCB. The Bengaluru-based outfit had retained him for Rs 7 crore after his impressive outings in the last couple of years (IPL 2020 and 2021).

Mohammed Siraj also hailed makeshift opener Cheteshwar Pujara, who has the habit of weathering storms for India. The veteran Indian stuck by his guns and scored a patient half-century off 139 balls at the end of the day’s play.

“Pujara is a warrior, especially the roles he played in India’s greatest test victories overseas.”

India will begin the fourth day with a lead of 257 runs, hoping to put on a good score ahead of the fourth innings.

Mohammed Siraj, the Hyderabad pacer took four wickets for 66 in the home side’s first innings to emerge as India’s most successful bowler. India is leading 2-1 in the series. A victory in the current match will ensure a series triumph. Mohammed Siraj, who has 18 scalps in the current series so far, is feeling very optimistic about India’s chances of winning another Test series in England.