'When responsibility comes to me, then...': Mohammed Siraj breaks silence on leading India's pace attack in absence of Jasprit Bumrah during Edgbaston Test

India speedster Mohammed Siraj opened up on leading the team's pace attack in the second Test match against England in the absence of pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who is missing the clash due to workload management. The 31-year-old pacer was unplayable during Day 3 of the Edgbaston Test as he dismissed Joe Root and Ben Stokes in the second over of the day.

Siraj finished with figures of 6/70, which included the big wickets of Zak Crawley, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes. Later, he wrapped up the tail by dismissing Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue, and Shoaib Bashir. The 10 wickets by taken by just two Indian bowlers and Siraj got six scalps, Akash Deep got four important scalps. The duo ensured that the visitors remained on top of proceedings to seal a victory and level the series despite a 303-run partnership between Harry Brook and Jamie Smith. While chatting with JioHotstar after stumps on Day 3, Siraj opened up about leading the Indian pace attack in Bumrah's absence.

ALSO READ: IND vs ENG, 2nd Test: Mohammed Siraj's 6-fer bundles out England for 407 as India take 180-run lead despite Jamie Smith-Harry Brook's run fest on Day 3

“Akash Deep is playing just his 3rd or 4th Test match. The same is the case with Prasidh Krishna. I have played 38 Tests. My only aim was to deliver and bowl consistent line and lengths. I had almost 600 runs on my board. So, I also wanted to try this. But my only aim was to hold the ball as much as I could. If the pressure builds, it would have been great for us,” said Siraj.

“I love the responsibility. I love a challenge. Because I have seen a lot of challenges in life. And I have come from there. So, I like challenges. And when responsibility comes to me, then I take that thing very well. So, I like it when responsibility comes to me,” he added.

ALSO READ: 'Without Virat and Rohit...': Naseer Hussain fires big 'negative impact' warning to Shubman Gill following Edgbaston Test heroics

Siraj became the first ever visiting pacer who picked up a six-wicket haul at Edgbaston since 1993. His bowling figures are also the third-best at a ground by a pacer from an away team. The Indian star is only one of five pacers to take a five-wicket haul against England at Edgbaston.

Coming back to the match, At stumps, India were 64 for one in 13 overs with the loss of Yashasvi Jaiswal (28 off 22), leading England by 244 runs. KL Rahul (28 batting off 38) looked in sublime touch and was joined by Karun Nair (7 batting off 18) in the middle after the left-handed opener was trapped in front by Josh Tongue amid grey skies with floodlights on.