IND vs ENG: 'DSP sahab' likes the challenge of leading the bowling attack, does not let Bumrah's absence be felt

The second match of the five-match Test series between India and England is being played at Edgbaston in Birmingham. By the end of the third day, Team India had scored 64 runs in their second innings after losing one wicket. The total lead of the Indian team has been 244 runs. After scoring 587 runs in the first innings, India had wrapped up England's first innings for 407 runs. In this way, Team India had gained a lead of 180 runs.

For the Indian team, Mohammad Siraj led the fast bowling attack and took six wickets. He is the most senior of the current three pacers, and he attacked England from the front. Apart from this, Akash Deep, playing his first match in England, took four wickets. Jasprit Bumrah was rested for this match, and Siraj did not let his absence be felt. The surprising thing is that in the absence of Bumrah, Siraj proves to be more lethal for the batsmen. We are not saying this, but his statistics are telling.

Siraj's average is lethal in the absence of Bumrah.

Siraj took five wickets in an innings for the fourth time in Tests. This is the first time he has taken five or more wickets in Tests after July 2024. During this, he sent Jack Crowley, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir, and Josh Tongue to the pavilion. At the same time, Akash Deep dismissed Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, and Chris Woakes. Siraj's average is very lethal in the absence of Bumrah. He has bowled in 44 innings of 23 Tests with Bumrah, and his bowling average in those matches has been 33.82. His average in 26 innings of 15 matches played without Bumrah has been 25.20. Bowling average means how many runs were conceded per wicket. At the same time, bowling strike rate means how many balls were bowled per wicket.

Siraj's average without Shami and Bumrah

Siraj has played nine Tests with Mohammed Shami. His average in those matches has been 34.96. He has played six Tests with both Bumrah and Shami, and his average in those matches has been 33.05. At the same time, in the 12 matches where Siraj played with neither Bumrah nor Shami, his average has been 22.27. If we look at Siraj's figures abroad, he has bowled in 32 innings with Bumrah, and during this time, he has taken 59 wickets at an average of 32.4. At the same time, without Bumrah, he has bowled in 13 innings on foreign pitches and has taken 30 wickets at an average of 23.3.

Siraj joined this special list.

With the six wickets, Siraj also joined a special list. He became the fourth Indian bowler to take five or more wickets at Edgbaston, Birmingham. Before him, Kapil Dev, Chetan Sharma, and Ishant Sharma have done this. Before this Test, Siraj had taken 28 wickets in 19 innings. During this time, he did not get any fire. On the last tour of Australia, he took 20 wickets. At the same time, in the first Test against England, he also took two wickets in both innings. It was believed that the Indian team would look weak without Bumrah, but Siraj did not let his absence be felt. A fan named Raghav wrote on social media - When Bumrah is not there, Siraj believes in himself, when Bumrah is there, he believes only in Jassi Bhai.