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Cheteshwar Pujara's rock solid fifty and Rishabh Pant's gritty 30 steadied India's boat after Jasprit Bumrah-led pace attack folded England to 284 on Day 3 of the ongoing Test against England on July 3.
At stumps, India were 125/3 in their second innings with Pujara (50 off 139) displaying his gutsy avatar with a half-century, battling it out in the company of the flamboyant Pant (30 off 46). The overall lead stood at 257 runs.
India have dominated in the fifth Test so far, thanks to Mohammed Siraj's four-fer which reduced the hosts to 284, giving India a 132 lead even before the start of their second innings.
After the close of play on Day 3, Siraj spoke about his mindset and was effusive in praising Pujara and called him a "warrior".
"He (Pujara) is a warrior. In Australia, he did it and here also, he is doing the job. Whenever the team requires, he always stands up. When the tough situation arises, he is always there to do the job. Exactly, bowling to him is difficult, he does not attack much and just keeps on leaving balls so that can get irritating in the nets," said Siraj during a press conference.
On stand-in captain Bumrah, Siraj said: "As a player and as a captain, he has been the same. He is always supportive and is always there to help me out. Whenever I do wrong, he tries to make me understand what to bowl in certain situations."
For England, it was Jonny Bairstow who stood out with the bat as he played a knock of 106 off 140 balls with the help of 14 fours and 2 sixes.
"As bowlers, we had to just keep patience. Bairstow is in form and he has been continuously playing attacking batting since the New Zealand series. So, we were aware his confidence was high. Our simple plan was to stick to our basics and, no matter what he did for us, it was a matter of one ball, be it an inswinger or seaming in off the pitch," said Siraj.
"When we saw the New Zealand series, we realised that our every bowler is 140-plus and they (New Zealand bowlers) didn't have that. We had that ability and also, we also had played against England last year. So that was our plus point, as were aware of their weak points and that is why we got the success," he further stated.
Talking about the pitch conditions, Siraj said: "In the first innings, the pitch was helpful to begin with, but after that it became flatter. So our only plan was to bowl in one area consistently. Also, the more effort balls we could deliver, then it would be effective for the bowlers. If we took it easy, then we would end up leaking runs. The ball is now keeping low, so in the second innings it will definitely help us."
