IND vs SL 2nd ODI: 'KL Rahul Told me it Stopped Swinging After One Over' - Mohammed Siraj Opens Up on Bowling Plan

Team India premier pacer Mohammed Siraj opened up on his bowling plan against Sri Lanka in the second ODI on a batting-friendly surface. Siraj was once again the standout performer for India with the ball as he claimed three wickets at Eden Gardens as India restricted Sri Lanka to just 215 in 39.4 overs. It was not the ideal bowling surface for the pacers with almost no swing on offer and a quick outfield for the batters but the hosts put up a collective effort to bundle out the visitors for a below-par score.

Siraj suggested that his plan was to stick to stump to stump line and put pressure on the batters to play a risky shot.

“The ball wasn’t coming out quick enough, and there wasn’t enough swing. So the plan was to bowl stump to stump to keep the pressure from one end, hoping to get wickets and help the other bowlers,” Siraj told broadcasters in the mid-innings break.

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The premier pacer also revealed that wicketkeeper KL Rahul informed him after one over that there is no swing which is the reason why he switched early to the hard lengths to test the Sri Lankan batters.

“KL told me it stopped swinging after one over, so I switched over to hard lengths,” he added.

Apart from Siraj, left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav also claimed three wickets to dismantle Sri Lankan middle-order as Siraj heaped praise on him to trigger a collapse in the middle.

“It is a good batting wicket, but Kuldeep bowled very well to cause a middle-order collapse,” he said.

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Siraj returned to attack in the 40th over and he didn’t waste much time to wrap the Lankan innings with two wickets.

Talking about India’s plan for the chase, Siraj advised that the batters just have to watch and play the ball as the outfield is too quick to assist them.

“The outfield is very quick so the message to the batters is just watch and play the ball,” he concluded.

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