Siraj lauds Ashwin and Ishan for putting India in command
India, after setting a 365-run target for the host to level the series, had West Indies struggling at 76/2 at stumps on day four with veteran spinner Ashwin taking both the wickets on Sunday.
Ravichandran Ashwin
PORT OF SPAIN: India pacer Mohammed Siraj is confident spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will prove to be more than a handful for the West Indies batters on the final day of the second Test here on Monday and help the visitor make a clean sweep of the two-match series.
India, after setting a 365-run target for the host to level the series, had West Indies struggling at 76/2 at stumps on day four with veteran spinner Ashwin taking both the wickets on Sunday.
“The way the wicket is behaving, Ashwin, I feel, will run through the West Indies batting... the ball is turning,” said Siraj at the end of day’s play after India declared its innings at 181/2 and then got rid of the dangerous West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk McKenzie to leave the host in a spot of bother. Siraj also disclosed that it was India’s strategy to bat aggressively in the second innings and set a big target quickly for the home side.
India batters, especially, Ishan Kishan played T20-style cricket notching up 52 off just 34 balls. “Yes, Ishan is an aggressive batter. Rishabh Pant is not there, so as a wicketkeeper, he (Ishan) is able to fill in for Pant’s loss to a certain extent, if not completely. “He has the ability to hit the ball long and hard. We had enough runs on the board (first innings lead), so our plan was to score as many (runs in the second innings) in a short period and then (after declaration), we would be able to get more overs to bowl out the West Indies.”
Siraj grabbed a five-for in the first innings, which helped India dismiss the West Indies for 255 in response to the visitor’s 438, and Siraj said bowling tirelessly in these conditions wasn’t easy. “I would rate my performance very high because it’s not easy to take five wickets on a flat wicket.
I had set a plan, especially when the ball started reverse swinging, I executed my line and length perfectly. “My plan was simple... since the ball wasn’t doing much, I kept it stump-tostump and also derived some swing,” he added.