Siraj took 2/50, but more importantly, got the wicket of Babar Azam that became a turning point for his team.
Mohammed Siraj had an indifferent day against Afghanistan but that doesn't make him a "bad bowler", the Hyderabad man said after contributing significantly in India's seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in a World Cup game on Saturday. (Highlights | Scorecard | Match Report | Full Coverage)
Siraj took 2/50, but more importantly, got the wicket of Babar Azam that became a turning point for his team.
"When we go to office you also have a day off – it cannot always be the same every time, the graph always comes down. So, I think to myself that I am not a bad bowler because of one match," Siraj said after the game.
"I always keep my confidence high that my bowling is good and I should be the number one bowler. This confidence helps me in bowling and I can't be a bad bowler if I lose a match. I have backed myself to do that. I have got the result today."
He has heard stories about World Cup but his humble background (father was an auto-rickshaw driver and he couldn't afford bowling spikes) did not allow him to dream big initially.
"No sir, to be honest I never thought that I will play World Cup and that too because from where I had come. But now I am playing so it is a matter of achievement for me.
"And India and Pakistan are known for their high-intensity and high-pressure games. But today, I saw that and I felt good."
Bowled cross-seam from the third over
On a flat track where there wasn't any purchase, Siraj had to try variations and he did bowl cross-seam so that the ball wobbles and also gets scruffed up easily to aid in reverse swing.
"I started from third over. Because in the end, there could have been chances of reverse. Because when I was holding it seam-up it was coming easy on the bat. The batsman was not struggling. The ball was coming easy."
"So, I thought, on this wicket I need to try cross seam because it can keep low and at times, you can get extra bounce. If you can extract bounce and if you get a wicket, that's good for you."
A scribe asked what did he do that the ball bowled to Babar kept low and he schooled him on the technical aspects of his bowling.
"I would like to say one thing, the ball didn't come low, because he had to play it on front foot and he went back. Otherwise, the ball was executed just as I thought. The ball skidded a little, nothing else. That's why."
Siraj also spoke about how the bowling unit has been doing well in tandem, adding that creating pressure from both ends on most days has worked wonders.
"You see, our bowling unit is doing so well from the last three matches. It's not like only one person is performing. Overall, the bowling unit is performing. If you don't get a wicket, you're building pressure and putting in a dot ball.
"In this, the team will get the success and the team will get the help. When Jassi bowls the ball - you can see what line is better on the wicket. When you're on the third man and the final leg, you get to see the line and get some information from the keeper that this line is better on the wicket. So, it becomes easier to execute," he explained.