Indian pacers completely owned the game and dominated the proceedings, especially in the second innings. Youngster Mohammed Siraj was the main attraction as he produced a coming-of-age performance in his first-ever visit to ‘Home of Cricket’.
Siraj took a four-wicket haul in the first innings (4/94) and replicated his show in the second essay as well, returning with impressive figures of 4 for 32, including the final wicket of James Anderson, which helped India register a memorable 151-run victory in the Lord’s Test.
Apart from Siraj’s scintillating bowling, another thing that captured maximum attention was his ‘finger on the lips’ celebration after taking wickets. After the first innings, the right-handed bowler had revealed the reason behind his unique celebration.
Siraj stated that this celebration style is for his haters, who say a lot of things about him, that he can’t do anything.
“The celebration style is for haters (critics), as they used to say a lot of things about me, that I cannot do this thing…So I thought of answering them with my ball,” Siraj had said at the end of the day’s play.
Siraj also explained that he was trying to bowl at one spot on a consistent basis because he’s been doing this since his Ranji Trophy days.
“Fast bowlers play an important role in England. We were bowling at consistent lengths. Our plan was to bowl consistently at one length. I was looking to bowl at one spot consistently, even during my Ranji Trophy days. My simple plan was not to try much hit at one spot consistently,” the 27-year-old added.
After the epic contest, Siraj took to Twitter and termed the win as a total team effort. He wrote: “MAGIC is believing in yourself. If you can make that happen, you can make anything happen. What a win, total team effort.”
MAGIC is believing in yourself. If you can make that happen, you can make anything happen ✌?
What a win, total team effort#miyamagic pic.twitter.com/7DchV7PVPs
— Mohammed Siraj (@mdsirajofficial) August 16, 2021
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