Mohammed Siraj asserted that he had to earn the wickets on Day 1 of the first Test match against the West Indies and attributed his newfound confidence to hard work and the England tour.
During the England visit earlier this year, Siraj was a hero for India, taking 23 wickets and orchestrating the team’s exciting victory at the Oval to tie the series.
On Thursday, October 2, the pacer started from where he left off in England and decimated the West Indies batting lineup with figures of 4 for 40 as the visitors were swept out for 162 runs. With 30 wickets under his belt, Siraj also shot to the top of the bowling standings for the 2025 cycle of the World Test Championship.
“It was a very competitive series in England and, of course, I got a lot of confidence from it. To perform against a strong side gives a different kind of confidence and I felt it today as well,” said Siraj.
Siraj claimed that following the England tour, he had a three-week break and that playing the India A match versus Australia A helped him improve his rhythm.
“I took off for three weeks, then resumed training and bowling and played the India A game. When you play after a long gap, you also learn about your rhythm. It was very hot in Lucknow but I had a good preparation before the series. I followed up on my rhythm from the England tour but I enjoyed this break which I got after several years,” said Siraj.
The pacer claimed that nothing was given to him and that he had to put in a lot of effort to acquire all of his wickets against the West Indies.
“I had to work hard for these four wickets here as well. Even in England, I had to work hard for getting wickets, it’s not the case that you can get wickets just like that. No one gave me the fifth wicket (today), I had to take all four with hard work,” said Siraj.
Captain Shubman Gill stated that he preferred more neutral tracks to rank turners in India prior to the West Indies series. Siraj was thrilled to bowl on a green track, which is not typically accessible in India, on the lively Ahmedabad surface.
Siraj claimed that he was eager to bowl on the track because it brought back memories of the Bengaluru match against New Zealand the previous year.
“I was very excited to bowl on this green-top wicket, something we don’t get very often in India in Test cricket. The last time we had such a wicket was against New Zealand in Bengaluru so I was very excited to bowl on it,” said Siraj.
India was 41 runs behind the West Indies at the close of the day, with 121 for two.