Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra highlighted that India’s fast bowler Mohammed Siraj was absolutely cooked towards the end of the Border-Gavaskar trophy against Australia. Siraj gave his all during the series despite suffering from cramps.
The fast bowler from Hyderabad threw down 157.1 overs in the five Test matches of the series, which was the second most after Pat Cummins. Siraj bagged 20 wickets in five Test matches at an average of 31.15.
“Fast bowling is a pack. India couldn’t prepare that pack. When (Mohammed) Shami wasn’t there, you knew we were slightly deflated. Then you played a debutant (Harshit Rana) with Siraj at the start. He played two matches and then you played Akash Deep. He was bowling well, he was unlucky, and in the end, you played Prasidh Krishna,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
“In all this, Siraj was cooked and how. He bowled the most overs for India in this series. If you see the entire year, he has just bowled too much. He has kept bowling continuously across formats. He tries his best. Miyan Magic is like that, but in the end, Siraj was absolutely cooked, roasted and toasted,” Chopra added.
On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah had the most amazing series as he snared 32 wickets at an average of 13.06 in five Test matches. Chopra hailed Bumrah’s heroics with the ball and called him a pole star.
“Bumrah is the shining star. He is the pole star. No matter how dark the night might be, he keeps showing you the way. He is that kind of a player – 32 wickets. If he had been fit and had bowled in Sydney’s second innings, he wouldn’t have allowed even these many runs to be scored,” he said.
Bumrah could not bowl in the second innings at the SCG due to a back spasm and Chopra noted India was never going to defend 162 without their star bowler.
“To be fair, he went out in the first innings after picking up two wickets. The other fast bowlers put all their might and kept themselves alive, gave India a lead of four runs, but it wasn’t going to happen without Bumrah in the second innings,” Chopra observed.
India will next host England for three ODIs and five T20Is.
