Birmingham, July 5 India pacer Mohammed Siraj said he was waiting for his standout performance for over a year after bagging a six-wicket haul in the second Test against England at Edgbaston on Friday.
Siraj's 6-70 helped India bounce back into the game after a massive 303-run partnership between Harry Brook (158) and Jamie Smith (184 not out) put the host in a strong position. Impressive knocks from the duo pushed England to 407 from 84/5.
"This feeling is unbelievable. I’d been waiting for a moment like this for over a year. I always bowled well but wickets didn’t come. Today, the morning session felt good but still no breakthrough - so these six wickets are really special," Siraj said on JioHotsar.
After Akash Deep castled Brook's off-stump, Siraj chipped in to remove England's tail with wickets of Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Shoaib Bashir.
Siraj provided the first breakthrough on the third day with the dismissal of Joe Root (22), followed by a scalp of captain Ben Stokes on the very next ball to put the host on the backfoot. On Day 2, Siraj removed opener Zak Crawley for 19.
Reflecting on the challenging and unfavouring conditions at Edgbaston, Siraj said he loves to perform under pressure and India's mighty first innings total of 587 also provided a cushion.
"The pitch was slow, but I knew I had a responsibility. I haven’t played too many matches recently, but with experience, I knew not to try too much. Just keep bowling in the right areas. That builds pressure and changes the atmosphere. I’ve played 38 Tests, so my aim was to bring stability. With 600 runs on the board, I didn’t want to go hunting for wickets - I just wanted to be consistent. I love responsibility, I love challenges. I’ve seen many challenges in life, and I feel I perform best when there’s a burden on my shoulders," the pacer said.
India lead England by 244 runs after KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave them a good start in their second innings. India were 64/1 in 13 overs at stumps on day three. Though Jaiswal fell for 28, Rahul managed to be unbeaten on the same score, with Karun Nair giving him company on seven not out.
--IANS
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