ENG vs IND: Mohammed Siraj finds a unique way to shine the red ball

Siraj

India is currently up against England in the opening Test of the five-match Test series. On the first day of the Trent Bridge Test, Indian seamers came to the team’s rescue as they bowled brilliantly to get crucial breakthroughs. While ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah gained back his little lost form, Mohammed Shami bowled at perfect lengths. On the same day, a hilarious action by Mohammed Siraj stole the show.

He found a unique way to shine the red ball when Shami was up in action. The incident happened in the 49th over of England’s innings when Siraj came close to Shami and wiped some sweat from his forehead to apply on the ball. The incident soon caught the attention of the fans and started doing rounds on the internet.

It is a known fact that saliva was earlier used on the ball to make it shine for the required purpose. However, in the wake of COVID-19 protocols, saliva was banned by the ICC and players had to use sweat to make the ball shine. The day one of the opening Test saw Indian pacers doing their job upright as the English conditions supported them too in their cause. They wrapped up England on 183 runs where four wickets went in the account of Jasprit Bumrah whereas Shami had three to his credit.

Indian pacers did their job well on opening day

Siraj had one under his belt and Shardul Thakur got two wickets. In turn, when India took the field with the bat and KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma beautifully dealt the English seamers. Taking about the match in the current aspect, Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja are on the crease trying to push India to have a good lead in their hand. Rahul is strongly going on 77 while Jadeja is supporting from the other end with 27 runs under his belt.

On day two of the first Test, the middle order of India comprising of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Ajinkya Rahane failed miserably and Rishabh Pant added 25 runs from his end.