Siraj bowled in half and death overs, made the most of the firm length and batted hard at the favorable McLean Park pitch to beat Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner/17 scored four times.
Published Date – Wed 23 Nov 22 at 03:00pm
Napier: India striker Mohammed Siraj has revealed that the mantra behind his incredible four-wicket strike against New Zealand in the third T20I was to throw as many balls as possible to upset the hosts’ batting order.
Siraj bowled in half and death overs, made the most of the firm length and batted hard at the favorable McLean Park pitch to beat Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, James Neesham and Mitchell Santner/17 scored four times.
“Bowling in Napier is not easy. My plan is very simple – bowl as much as possible. I am happy. As a fast bowler who has done well, you have confidence,” Siraj on BCCI.TV Chatting with Arshdeep Singh in a video released.
Siraj is known to run points in the shortest format and has a mediocre performance in IPL 2022 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. But Napier was at his impressive best against New Zealand.
He added that from the time he spent with the national team during Australia’s men’s T20 World Cup, he has been preparing to hit the long ball. “I’ve been preparing for a long time. Even during the (T20) World Cup, I was a stand-by player (in Australia) and I was planning and getting ready to pitch.”
With experience playing in T20s, the 28-year-old Siraj said his plan was just not to give up too many points. “My mentality in T20 is, whether I get a wicket or not, my aim is to not miss a run or hit too many boundaries. That’s my plan. I don’t try to do too many things.”
He concluded by saying that whenever he plays for India, it is a happy moment for him. “It’s a different kind of joy when I’m representing India and performing for India. I bowl that way naturally and experience plays a role. It’s a whole different feeling when you’re representing India and performing well .”
