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India's dauntless speedster Mohammed Siraj shared his experience of bowling in the Test format on home soil after almost a year and expressed that every wicket he took felt like taking a five-for during the recently concluded Test series against the West Indies.
From Ahmedabad to Delhi, Siraj bowled his heart out in 49 overs, during which he scythed 10 scalps to finish as the second-highest wicket-taker in the series behind Kuldeep Yadav's 12. While he found assistance in Ahmedabad, the docile Delhi surface posed a different challenge. On a strip that was covered in patches of grass, Siraj had to put in the hard yards to be effective and pick three wickets. For Siraj, putting in the hard yards and being rewarded for it with a wicket felt like taking a fifer. For his exuberant display, Siraj was named India's 'Impact Player of the Series' award, a feat that swells him with pride. "This series went very well for me. When we played in Ahmedabad, there was help for fast bowlers. Then we came to Delhi, and we had to bowl a lot of overs here. Every wicket felt like taking five wickets because, as a fast bowler, when you are rewarded after putting in the effort, you gain a lot of confidence. You feel happy because you are winning the 'Impact Player' of the dressing room, so it feels nice," Siraj said in a video posted by the BCCI. As soon as Siraj stepped up to accept the medal, 'Siu' chants erupted from the dressing room as everyone laughed and applauded. Siraj vowed to continue bowling with high spirits in a format that remains his beloved arena. The 31-year-old relishes the challenges that the longest format brings both physically and mentally. "When you achieve something as a person, you feel very proud. I will try to continue to deliver similar performances because my favourite format is Test cricket. There are many challenges in this format. You have to be on the ground for the whole day, both physically and mentally, and you feel pride in a very different way. It's a lot of fun," he concluded. (ANI)
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