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‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar has heaped praise on India’s in-form pacer Mohammed Siraj for his attitude during the five-Test series against England. Tendulkar reckons Siraj does not get the credit he deserves for running in hard, giving it his all. He pointed out that the 31-year-old pacer was bowling at an impressive pace even in the fifth Test of the series at The Oval where he bagged a five-wicket haul to lead visitors to a six-run win to level the series 2-2.
"Unbelievable. Superb approach. I love his attitude. I love the spring in his legs," Tendulkar said on Reddit. "For a fast bowler to be constantly in your face like that, no batsman will like it. And the approach he had till the end on the last day, I could hear commentators also saying he bowled around 90mph (145kph) on the last day after having bowled more than 1000 deliveries in the series. That shows his courage and big heart.
"The way he started on the last day was remarkable and he has always been instrumental, playing a key role whenever we need him, whenever we want him to deliver that knockout punch, he's been able to do that consistently in the past, and so was the case in this series. The way he picked all those wickets and performed, he doesn't get the credit he deserves."
Siraj’s magnificent spell on Day 5
On Day 5, Siraj bowled brilliantly with the old ball. He swung it away and into the batters, making captain Shubman Gill decide against opting for the new ball when it was available. He got the ball rolling by managing a faint outside edge off Jamie Smith’s bat. Then, he trapped Jamie Overton in front of the stumps with a massive inswinger. He disturbed the timber as Gus Atkinson went for the glory shot but got bowled instead.
Siraj’s astonishing numbers
Siraj was the only Indian bowler who played all five Tests in the series. He claimed five wickets in the final innings and was adjudged ‘Player of the match’. He had 23 scalps from five games, including two fifers. He bowled 185.3 overs, most by any pacer in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2025.
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