We started bowling bouncers when the wicket was not assisting: Siraj

After knocking off the English top three, for just 108 runs on board, India had to follow it up well on the third day of the second Test at Lord’s. However, the 121-run partnership between Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root changed the complexity of the game, putting the hosts in the drivers’ seat. That was exactly when the Indian bowlers, including Mohammed Siraj started bowling an array of bouncers. In the post-day press conference, Siraj admitted that the bouncer plan was employed when the wicket was not helping the pacers. 

“Wicket was not helping us, that is where we planned to go with the bouncer strategy before the new ball. That is the reason that we aimed to bowl short balls against Jonny Bairstow and the plan was to keep it simple if we get a wicket. The finger-on-lips celebration is for the haters, they kept doubting me at all junctures, so I have kept this celebration to show them,” said Siraj in the online presser.

While there were questions raised over the exclusion of Ravichandran Ashwin from the lineup, Siraj pressed the importance of having an extra pacer at Lord’s. However, at the same time, the Indian pacer insisted that the plan for the bowlers was to keep it simple and hit the spots consistently. 

“It was very important to have an extra pacer today, we got the first three wickets very early. The role was for the fast bowlers to keep bowling in the channel, the areas. It is easy to be carried away in English conditions, bowling the different deliveries but the plan for us was to keep it simple and consistent.”

Lord’s slope has in the past led to bowlers making multiple changes to their bowling but for Siraj, it was not very tough to adjust to the conditions. The 27-year-old, who finished as India’s leading wicket-taker in the innings revealed that his plan was to keep it consistent and not try too many things. 

“Because of the slope, I didn’t have to make a lot of adjustments, as the ball was coming into the right-hander effectively. So I didn’t really have to make a lot of changes and had a word with Virat bhaiya regarding that. I was just trying to be more consistent and hit the right areas. We bowled very well, it was not like there was no help for the bowlers and we made use of it.”

"The wicket now is very flat and good for batting. We will try and give them a big target,” he concluded.