Team India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after inflicting a six-wicket loss on Australia in the second Test match in Delhi. The Indian spinners made a mockery of Australian batters as the match finished in three days. Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin have been the stars for India with the ball as they have enjoyed plenty of assistance from the pitch.
The Indian pacers haven't had much to do in the series so far. Mohammed Shami bagged four wickets in the first innings of the Delhi Test while Mohammed Siraj went wicketless in the 10 overs he bowled. In the second innings, Rohit Sharma didn't use his pacemen as Jadeja and Ashwin ran riot with the ball.
Talking about Siraj, the right-arm pacer has quickly evolved as one of India's premier pacers across formats. The Hyderabad paceman has provided timely strikes for India and through his match-winning performances, he has earned immense praise from fans, pundits and his teammates.
Siraj's Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) teammate, Dinesh Karthik also showered praise on the pacer and said that if he remains fit, he has the potential to bag 300 wickets in Test cricket.
“I'm very sure that he (Siraj) would be part of the 2023 World Cup team. He deserves that spot, he has done really well. The 2022 IPL taught him a lot of things about handling failures, and that has kept him in good stead. I see him as one of those - let's just say he doesn't get injuries - at least a 300-wicket Test bowler,” said Karthik on Cricbuzz's ‘Rise of New India’.
“He definitely has the aptitude for that, he has the skill set for that. It's only the matter of whether he can stay fit for that long. He has shown so far that he's very reliable. His strongest in Test cricket, one-dayers will come after that. T20s is where he is still learning,” he added.
India will now take on Australia in the 3rd Test match in Indore, starting March 01. Siraj is likely to keep his place in the playing XI alongside senior pacer Shami.
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