Birmingham [UK], July 5 : After taking a six-wicket haul in the first innings of the second test against England, Indian seamer Mohammed Siraj said he would have given the ball to his bowling partner Akash Deep if he had the same number of wickets as Akash.
Deep finished the first innings with four wickets in 20 overs, conceded 88 runs at an economy of 4.40.
Mohammed Siraj grabbed six wickets as India bowled out England for 407 runs, taking a first-innings lead of 180 runs in the second test.
In a video posted by BCCI, Siraj said, "I would have given the ball to Aakash if I had the same number of wickets as Aakash. My first five-wicket haul was in Australia. It is a memory for me. I would have given the ball to Aakash. I even told Aakash to take out the remaining four wickets."
Siraj praised Deep for his brilliance in the first innings and said he was waiting for the opportunity.
"He was waiting for the opportunity. He has shown how hungry he is. To be honest, I enjoyed bowling with him. My aim was not to give runs from my end. I wanted to control myself and put pressure on the opposition," he added.
Siraj's spell, particularly with the second new ball, ensured India retained a strong hold on the game. He claimed six wickets, four of them from the final five in England's innings, including the wicket of England skipper Ben Stokes for a duck.
Coming to the match, before the end of the day play, India lost Yashasvi Jaiswal for 28. Rahul 28* and Karun Nair 7* stand tall on the crease as India finished Day 3 on 64/1, leading by 244.
Brief score: India: 587 (Shubman Gill 269, Ravindra Jadeja 89, Shoaib Bashir 3/167) against England: 407 ( Jamie Smith 184*, Harry Brook 158; Mohammed Siraj 6/70/). India 64/1 (KL Rahul 28*, Yashasvi Jaiswal 28; Josh Tongue 1/12).