Centuries are important but bowlers win you the match – Aakash Chopra picks Mohammed Siraj as Player of the Match

Former Indian opener Aakash Chopra has picked Mohammed Siraj as his Player of the match for his sublime performance in the second Test match at Lord’s as India won by 151 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

KL Rahul was awarded the Man of the match award for scoring 129 runs in the first innings and he was picked by the Sky Sports commentary team.

However, Chopra feels Mohammed Siraj should have been awarded the Player of the match as he scalped a total of eight wickets in the match. Siraj returned with figures of 4-94 in the first innings and then came up with a fine bowling performance of 4-32 in the second innings.

Siraj bowled with a lot of heart every time he had the ball in his hand and he wanted to get under the skin of the opposition batsmen. The fast bowler from Hyderabad bowled closer to the off-stump among the all Indian bowlers and he was able to reap fruits for the same. Siraj was successful in asking the right questions and bowled at the top of his game to breathe down the neck of the England’s batsmen.

Siraj dismissed Moeen Ali and Sam Curran on consecutive deliveries in the second innings and put his team in the driver’s seat.

Aakash Chopra said while talking on his YouTube Channel, “KL Rahul got the Man of the Match award but I have picked Mohammed Siraj. I know centuries are important, they protect you, but bowlers win you the match because you need to take twenty wickets. So in my opinion, the Player of the Match is Mohammed Siraj.”

“This bowler is making things happen. He has got this happy knack of picking wickets. He is putting his heart and soul into it. Whenever he comes running in, it seems the lad will take wickets. It was just his 7th Test but it seemed like he has been playing for 70 Tests.”

Siraj has already shown the skills to go a long way in his Test career as he is ticking the right boxes. The renowned commentator added that the confidence and belief with which Siraj is playing is a fascinating story.

“The confidence and belief with which he is playing is a fascinating story. Four wickets in the first innings which also included two wickets in two balls. Then again two wickets in two balls in the second innings, handed a king pair to Sam Curran. Moeen Ali was looking good and was troubling India, he got him out as well.”

Siraj is definitely a big find for the Indian team as he is consistently delivering the goods despite being inexperienced at the top level.