New Delhi: India pacer Mohammed Siraj has been mediocre lately, specially in his Test performances for the country in the last few months. He wasn’t at his best while taking on Bangladesh and New Zealand at home, but he is very well a part of the current Australia-touring India squad. However, he hinted at his return to form as he picked up a match haul of five wickets in the first Test held in Perth.
There is a long 10-day gap between the conclusion of the first and the beginning of the second Test and now that the pink-ball game nears, the Indian cricket diaspora is all excited about seeing their favourites bowling full tilt with the shining ball. Siraj is among India’s strong pace attack and has been regularly practicing with the new ball, also making notes of major differences he felt when comparing it with the traditional red ball.
After the India vs Australia Prime Minister’s XI game folded on Sunday, Siraj said that the team doesn’t need to worry about the Adelaide day-night Test that begins on December 6. He said that the pink ball has a synthetic feeling which is different from the red ball they play with.
Major difference
Siraj also explained in detail how the pink ball is exactly different than the red ball. Even his teammates gave their opinion on how the seam of the pink ball is very hard and it offers seam at large rather than swing.
“The seam is very hard. It’s bright and quite big. The more you practice with it, the better you get. I think that with the pink ball, it’s better to bowl back of length. Because pitching it up, there’s not a lot of swing, so the more you hit the deck and get it to seam, it will be better for us,” Siraj said.
He also talked about the pink ball swinging under the lights as the word has been around for a long now. “I have heard that the ball swings a lot under the lights, but I haven’t yet bowled with it under lights. So when we go to Adelaide and practice, we will try that. And the more practice we get, we’ll know more about what we have to do,” the right-arm-quick added.
In the pink-ball practice game that concluded on Sunday, Siraj bowled seven overs and conceded just 18 runs in the 46-overs-per-side clash, dismissing Matt Renshaw. India emerged victorious at the Manuka Oval in Canberra by six wickets. Now it all awaits for the second Test that will be played at the Adelaide Oval.
Mohammed Siraj will be seen bowling with pink ball in the upcoming Test against Australia scheduled in Adelaide. Ahead of the match, he opined on the major difference between a red and a pink ball. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
