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Published : 10 Aug 2025, 03:58 AM
India pace sensation Mohammed Siraj’s stellar performance in the latest England Test series has sparked widespread acclaim. This time, India’s veteran batsman Ajinkya Rahane has heaped praise on the speedster for his excellent outing in the recently-concluded Test series.
The experienced batter has highlighted a similarity between Siraj and the England fast bowler James Anderson, the most successful in Test history.
Siraj’s exploits helped India clinch a thrilling 6-run victory against England at The Oval, levelling the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2. The pacer, who took four wickets in the first innings, claimed five more in the second to finish with a match haul of nine. His performance earned him the Player of the Match award.
Siraj, who was brilliant with the ball throughout the series, finished as the leading wicket-taker with 23 dismissals in the five-Test series, outpacing England’s Josh Tong, who claimed 19 wickets in the series as well.
His relentless energy and unwavering determination to snatch victory for his team commanded the most attention. He was one of the two pacers who featured in every match of the series. None of the bowlers in the series bowled more than his 1,113 deliveries and not a single bowler even crossed the 1,000-delivery mark.
Even after bowling in five consecutive Tests, Siraj gave all his effort until the last ball. His indomitable mindset is still the subject of much discussion, said Rahane in his YouTube channel. Rahane also said Siraj is always ready to give his best from the very first ball.
“The aspect that I truly like in Siraj is his appetite for long bowling spells. Even Siraj was ready to deliver the same aggression in the 2020-21 series. He was disappointed as I brought him into attack late when he debuted in Australia. That fierce determination still powers him and brings out the best from him,” Rahane said.
“We’ve also seen the same thing in the England series. He is aggressive from the very first delivery throughout his spells. That’s a wonderful quality of a great bowler. Some of the bowlers take 8 to 10 deliveries to find their rhythm while some of them take two or three.
"But Siraj is always ready from the very beginning. He is in rhythm from the beginning just like Anderson. He keeps the same aggression and intensity even when he bowls his eighth or ninth over in a spell,” he added.
