India Vs Australia: Mohammad Siraj Gets Emotional, Reminisces About His Father After Taking 5 Wickets

Australia, January 18, 2021: India’s right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Siraj took 5 wickets in an innings for the first time in Test cricket. In Australia’s second innings in the Brisbane Test, Siraj took 5 wickets for 73 runs. With this, he joined the list of Indian bowlers taking 5 or more wickets in an innings on Gaba’s field.

Playing his third Test, Siraj caught Josh Hazlewood (9) at the hands of Shardul Thakur and struck the 5th wicket of the innings. With this, the second innings of the host team was bowled out for 294 runs and India got a target of 328 runs to win the series.

The 26-year-old Siraj also picked up Marnus Labuschen (25), Matthew Wade (0), Steve Smith (55) and Mitchell Starc (1) during the Australian innings. Siraj’s father died during the current tour of Australia. During the national anthem in the Sydney Test, Siraj got emotional as he reminisced about his father.

After which the audience made racist comments about the player during the Test match. In both the Sydney and Brisbane Tests, Siraj bowled with glee. Despite these incidents, Siraj was completely dedicated to performing well.

Siraj became the 5th Indian bowler to take 5 or more wickets in an innings in Gaba. Irapalli Prasanna, Bishan Singh Bedi, Madan Lal, and Zaheer Khan have achieved this feat before Siraj.

Off-spinner Prasanna took 6 wickets for 104 runs in the 1968 series. Former captains Bishan Singh Bedi and Madan Lal took 5 wickets each in the 1977 series. Left-arm spinner Bedi took 5 wickets for 55 runs. At the same time, fast bowler Madan Lal took 5 wickets for 72 runs. Zaheer Khan took 5 wickets at the Gaba field in the 2003-04 series. Left-arm fast bowler Zaheer Khan took 5 wickets for 95 runs.