Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra picks Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Siraj as India’s biggest positives from the bowling department from the Lord’s Test match against England. Ishant Sharma who missed the first Test due to niggle, replaced injured Shardul Thakur. Both him and Siraj played a key role in India’s win in the second Test match on Monday.
Ishant picked up five wickets in the match, while Mohammed Siraj bagged eight wickets. In a video uploaded on Aakash Chopra’s Youtube Channel, he was all praise for both the Indian pacers. Chopra said:
“Firstly, I will say Siraj and Ishant. Siraj’s reign at Lord’s – this was sensational. To take four wickets in each innings, you are the youngest and most inexperienced bowler in this quartet but the spirit with which he bowled and took wickets.”
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
“He was on a hat-trick twice. He got out Moeen Ali and Sam Curran on consecutive deliveries, Haseeb Hameed on the first delivery. He is very very good. One is his ability to make things happen and secondly, the special thing is that he is always at you, he is creating that play. Whenever the ball was in his hand, it seemed he will do something,” he added.
Ishant Sharma was absolutely sensational: Aakash Chopra
Aakash Chopra also highlighted Ishant Sharma’s contribution in the match. He stated that the pacer picked up crucial wickets in both the innings of the test match. Chopra said,
“At the other end of the spectrum, there was Ishant Sharma, who is the most experienced player in this entire team. He was absolutely sensational. You are again and again introducing him as the fourth bowler, not in the first innings, where he got the new ball. But apart from that he always got the ball last.”
“But what did Ishant Sharma do, in the first innings he hit Buttler’s stumps, and then he also took two wickets in two deliveries. He also had a hand in Sam Curran’s king pair. He took important wickets in the second innings as well. He got the well-set Jonny Bairstow. So, he has taken wickets in both the innings,” he concluded.
