India faced a tough five-wicket loss against England in the first Test at Leeds, and former cricketer Mohammed Kaif didn’t hold back while talking about the team’s bowling performance—especially that of pacer Mohammed Siraj.
The match was played on a flat pitch at Headingley, which offered very little help to bowlers. Still, Jasprit Bumrah managed to shine in the first innings by picking up five wickets. Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj took three and two wickets, respectively, but both gave away too many runs. Krishna’s economy rate was 6.40 while Siraj’s was 4.50.
Things went from bad to worse in the second innings as England chased a big target of 371 runs. Their openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, built a massive 188-run stand that laid the foundation for a comfortable win. Krishna and Shardul Thakur took two wickets each, and Jadeja got one, but Siraj and Bumrah remained wicketless despite bowling many overs.
Siraj bowled 41 overs across the match and got just two wickets. Commenting on his performance, Kaif said on his YouTube channel, “People say Mohammed Siraj tries very hard and bowls with his heart. Sir, don’t bowl with your heart—bowl with your mind, focus on line and length to get wickets.”
Kaif also explained why Bumrah couldn’t take wickets in the second innings. “The England batters played him defensively. They knew Bumrah would bowl 4-5 tight overs and handled him carefully. But they went after Krishna, Shardul, and Siraj.”
Kaif further added that if India had bowlers like Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma alongside Bumrah, captain Shubman Gill would have easily led the team to a series win. “Those are the bowlers who know how to take 20 wickets,” he said.
With this win, England leads the five-match Test series 1-0. The second Test will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham starting July 2.
