IND vs ENG | Twitter abuzz as Siraj's stare spices up third Test after England's back-to-back dismissals
Cricket is not for the kind-hearted and the longest format of the sport demands exquisite skillset to come to the top. Tom Hartley could feel the heat of Test cricket as a revved-up Mohammad Siraj did not hesitate to stare him down following England’s back-to-back dismissals at Rajkot.
The overnight English batters were unable to produce the spark in the morning session as Indian bowlers managed to extract three wickets before Lunch and put the opposition on the back foot. Although Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes tried to stabilise the ship the scenario completely overturned post Lunch as the pair crumbled and Siraj followed up with a wild stare to make way for a tailender collapse.
A 39-run sixth wicket stand came to an end after Ravindra Jadeja enticed Stokes for a big slog on the sixth ball of the 65th over and the English skipper managed to hole it down to Jasprit Bumrah at deep mid-wicket. Foakes followed suit in the immediate next delivery with a false stroke off Mohammed Siraj that offered Rohit Sharma a catching practice at mid-on.
As the tables turned in favour of the home side, Siraj was pumped up and dished a full-pitch delivery at the off stump that new-batter Hartley defended back to the bowler. The Hyderabad-based bowler grabbed the rebounding cherry and emulated a gesture for a throw at the batter. Subsequently, he followed up with a stroll towards the left-hander and spiced up the contest with a vicious stare before walking back for his bowling stride. The Twittverserse followed this phase of play closely and here’s how they responded:
Things gettin spicy!
— Jas Pope (@jas_pope93438) February 17, 2024
Back 2 back!
THAT is some start to the afternoon session 🔥🔥
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 17, 2024
Local lad @imjadeja from one end & @mdsirajofficial from the other 😎
England lose Ben Stokes & Ben Foakes.
Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/FM0hVG5X8M#TeamIndia | #INDvENG | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/VbNShELasQ
Magical!
𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 🎯𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱 🚀☝️
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 17, 2024
Siraj wraps up the England innings with finesse 🔥👏#INDvENG #JioCinemaSports #BazBowled #IDFCFirstBankTestSeries pic.twitter.com/WOO1DRVDHE
The best
Mohammad Siraj Best In Accross All Formats.
— Satish Mishra🇮🇳 (@SATISHMISH78) February 17, 2024
Miya Magic ✨#INDvsENG https://t.co/mxTQTEJHYH
Siraj on the charge!
Back to Back 2 Wickets For India.🔥🇮🇳
— Rishabh Singh Parmar (@irishabhparmar) February 17, 2024
Mohammed Siraj dismissed Ben Foakes 13(37)☝️
🏴-304/7 (Trail by 141 runs)
📸: Jio Cinema#MohammedSiraj #INDvENG #INDvsENG #WTC25 pic.twitter.com/Roogb82RuK
Mr. Important
People speak badly about Siraj, he is always on target but Siraj tries to bowl better than his capacity and gets wickets at important times and not everyone can be Jasprit.
— Ahmeee (@Mr_ahmeee) February 17, 2024
True
siraj bhai cute
— Chango Tarlie 🦉 (@owl_corner) February 17, 2024
India back in the game!
Jadeja gets stokes
— CR17 (@_CR0717) February 17, 2024
Siraj gets fokes
2 in 2 for India#INDvsENG #INDvENGpic.twitter.com/q3AbMfk4PY
Lit!
Siraj miya 🔥🔥💯 #siraj #INDvsENG
— Manoj Bhai (@CricketFever111) February 17, 2024
Too good!
SIRAJ, the man that you are. ❤️
— Aditya Saha (@Adityakrsaha) February 17, 2024
LOL
Ab Anderson ko injured krde siraj taki bowling na krwa ske
— Harman (@62AtTheGabba) February 17, 2024