Mohammed Siraj Reveals How he And Shardul Thakur Planned The Brisbane Sucess Against Australia: Build Pressure From Both Ends

Days after the success in Australia, the stories are slowly but surely coming out! Gabba star Mohammed Siraj in an interview with TOI has revealed how he along with Shardul Thakur planned the Australian collapse. Siraj admitted the team was under pressure after being hit by injuries.

“Shardul and I sat for some time in Brisbane and planned how to build pressure. Of course, a team is under pressure when it loses its big players. We also lost a few big players due to injuries. But such is the support and the coaching staff that they can make anything happen,” said Siraj.

Siraj said that he and Shardul had decided to build pressure, not from one – but both ends.

“The plan was to build pressure from both ends. When you build pressure, the batsman will surely make a mistake. That is what happened. We build pressure and the Australians gave their wickets away,” he added further.

Siraj played a pivotal role in his maiden Test series. He picked up a five-wicket haul on his debut at Melbourne Cricket Ground in the Boxing Day Test. In the following Test, he picked up three wickets and helped India draw the Test and keep the series locked at 1-1, forcing a decider. In the final Test, he picked up six wickets, which includes a five-wicket haul in the second innings.

In the fourth Test, Shardul came good with the bat and the ball. He stitched a crucial 123-run stand for the seventh wicket with Washington Sundar which helped India get close to the Australian first innings total.

With the ball, he picked up seven wickets in the Test and helped India breach fortress Gabba after 32 years with a three-wicket win.

The Indian team will now host England in a full-fledged series starting February 5 with the first Test in Chennai.