India vs West Indies 2nd Test: Mohammed Siraj confident R Ashwin will ‘get the job done’ on fifth day

port of Spain: India fast bowler Mohammed Siraj is confident that spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will prove to be of great help to the West Indies batsmen on the final day of the second Test on Monday and help the visiting team clean sweep the two-match series. India set the hosts a target of 365 to level the series but West Indies struggled to 76/2 at stumps on the fourth day, with veteran spinner Ashwin taking both wickets on Sunday.

The Caribbean team still needs 289 runs to pull off an improbable win on Monday on a spin-assisted wicket. At the end of the day’s play after India declared on 181/2, Siraj said, “The way the wicket is behaving, I think Ashwin will impact the West Indies batting…the ball is turning.”

Siraj also revealed that it was India’s strategy to bat aggressively in the second innings and set a big target early for the home side. India’s batsmen, especially Ishan Kishan played T20 style cricket and scored 52 off just 34 balls.

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“Yes, Ishan is an aggressive batsman. Rishabh Pant is not there, so as a wicket-keeper he (Ishan) has been able to fill Pant’s gap to some extent, if not completely. He has the ability to hit the ball long and hard. He has the ability to hit all around the ground. We had enough runs on the board (first innings lead), so our plan was to score as many runs (in the second innings) in less time and then (after declaration) we would be able to get more overs to bowl out West Indies,” he said.

Most wickets by Indian bowlers in international cricket:

1) Anil Kumble – 956

2) Ravichandran Ashwin – 712*

3) Harbhajan Singh – 711 pic.twitter.com/cHD0qTTBT8– Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) 24 July 2023

Siraj took five wickets in the first innings as India bowled out the West Indies for 255 in reply to the visitors’ 438, and Siraj said it was not easy to bowl relentlessly in these conditions.

He said, “I would rate my performance very high because taking five wickets on a flat wicket is not easy. I had a plan, especially when the ball started to reverse swing, I executed my line and length perfectly. My plan was simple… Since the ball wasn’t doing much, I kept it stump-to-stump and got a few seams as well,” he said.

He said that it was not easy to bowl in the hot and humid conditions with frequent rain interruptions. “When you bowl long spells in this heat and humidity, it is not easy. Then with intermittent rains and heat again and again after each rain interval, it was very challenging.”

Siraj said that he is proud to have become the mainstay of the Indian fast bowling unit in a short span of two and a half years.

With Jasprit Bumraj recovering from a back injury and Mohammed Shami rested for the West Indies series, the pressure is on Siraj to deliver and the 29-year-old pacer has not disappointed. “Honestly speaking, I feel great when I get some responsibility, when no one (seniors) is there. I love it when there is responsibility on my shoulders and I love to take up challenges,” said Siraj.

Pacer Mukesh Kumar, who has so far bowled 23 overs and taken two wickets in his debut match, was also praised by Siraj, who said the 29-year-old has adapted easily to the flat pitch here as he has bowled extensively on good wickets in domestic cricket.

“Mukesh is not a new player. He regularly plays Ranji Trophy and bowls on tough wickets. It is not easy to take wickets in Ranji Trophy where the wickets are even flatter than Port of Spain.

“It is a big achievement to perform in domestic cricket and then coming here and getting over my nervousness is not easy. He is playing his first match for India and that too a Test and he is bowling long spells,” Siraj said.