WI v IND: Mohammed Siraj proved he is leader of Indian pace attack with 5-wicket haul, says Courtney Walsh

Former legendary West Indies fast bowler Courtney Walsh said Mohammed Siraj proved he is a leader of Indian pace attack after his five-wicket haul in the first innings of the second Test match against the Windies at Queen’s Park, Trinidad.

Siraj returned with his best bowling-figures in Test matches as he bagged 5-60 and played a key role in skittling West Indies at 255, giving a comprehensive first-innings lead of 183 runs to the visitors.

Siraj accounted for Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, Kemar Roach, Alzarri Joseph and Shannon Gabriel. In fact, Siraj got all of his five wickets in the morning session of the fourth day’s play and quickly wrapped up West Indies’ tail.

The fast bowler from Hyderabad got the ball to swing both ways to breathe down the neck of the home team’s batters. West Indies were 229-4 at the end of the third day’s play and the hosts collapsed as they lost their next six wickets for only 26 runs. Mohammed Siraj was the chief destroyer as picked five out of those six wickets.

Courtney Walsh was also impressed with debutant Mukesh Kumar, who returned with figures of 2-48 in his maiden Test innings.

“I was impressed with the two seamers. The control that they showed, the swing that they got with the new ball, obviously, as a fast bowler, that is what you like to see. It was good to see bending their back and getting the rewards for it,” Walsh told JioCinema.

Walsh hailed Siraj for taking the onus on his shoulders being the leader of the pace attack and delivering for the tourists.

“Indians understand their roles well and accept the responsibility. He knows he is the leader of the pace attack. They had a debutant in the attack.

“So he has put his hand up and said ‘listen, I am going to make sure I lead and the other bowlers follow’. Siraj took up the responsibility and he showed he is the leader of the pack in terms of the fast-bowling group. Not just because of the wickets he took, his whole approach, his game plan and the aggression he showed.

India came out with an aggressive batting approach and declared after scoring 181-2 in 24 overs. In response, West Indies ended the penultimate day’s play at 76-2, still needing another 289 runs to win in the run-chase of 365 runs.