Irfan Pathan hails Siraj, Prasidh for brilliance with ball in Oval Test

London: Former Indian cricketer Irfan Pathan on Friday lauded pacers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna for their four-wicket hauls against England on the second day of the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval.

Siraj was the standout performer, dismissing England skipper Ollie Pope, world No.1 Test batter Joe Root, Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook. Siraj returned with figures of 4/62, while Krishna also impressed with a spell of 4/80. Akash Deep contributed with a wicket as well.

Praising the Indian pace duo, Pathan wrote in a post on X, “When you give the responsibility of leading the pack to Mohammed Siraj, he delivers differently. And those four wickets will do a world of good to Prasidh Krishna.

Siraj also achieved a personal milestone by completing 200 international wickets across all formats. In 101 matches, he has taken 203 wickets at an average of 28.94 and an economy rate of 4.11, with best figures of 6/15 against Australia.

Siraj is the most wicket-taker in the ongoing England series; he has grabbed 18 wickets in five fixtures, at an average of 25.23 and an economy of 3.06, with best figures of 6/70.

Coming to the match, Yashasvi Jaiswal ensured India ended the second day on a strong note.

At the end of the day’s play, India was 75/2, with Jaiswal (51*) and night-watchman Akash Deep (4*) unbeaten. They lead by 52 runs. In their first innings, England had scored 247 in response to India’s 224. However, Prasidh Krishna (4/62) and Mohammed Siraj (4/86) bowled extremely well to deny England a massive lead and triggered a batting collapse.

The final session of the day kicked off with England being 215/7, with Harry Brook (33*) joined by Gus Atkinson, a capable lower-order hitter.

Brief Scores: England: 247 (Zak Crawley 64, Harry Brook 53, Prasidh Krishna 4/62) vs India: 224 and 75/2 (Yashasvi Jaiswal 51*, Sai Sudharsan 11, Gus Atkinson 1/26).