Star pacer Mohammed Siraj opened up on playing his ODI World Cup after he played a vital role in India’s comprehensive 7-wicket win over Pakistan on Saturday. Siraj went for a few boundaries in his initial overs but bounced back well to dismiss Abdullah Shafique and Babar Azam. He triggered Pakistan’s batting collapse but outfoxed Babar for 50 as Pakistan were bundled out for just 191 at Narendra Modi Stadium in front of around 1,00,000 fans.
After the match, Siraj said he never thought of playing in the World Cup as he comes from a humble background.
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“To be honest I never thought that I will play World Cup and that too because I have come from so low so – I never thought that I will play World Cup, but now I am playing so it is a matter of achievement for me,” Siraj said in the post-match press conference.
He also talked about playing an India vs Pakistan match in the mega stage of the World Cup.
“And India and Pakistan are known for their high intensity and high-pressure games. But today I saw that and I felt good,” he added.
Siraj has been one of the most consistent fast bowlers in international cricket for one year when it comes to ODIs as he is also ranked 2nd in the ICC rankings. The premier paceman had a rough outing against Afghanistan in the last match but bounced back well on Saturday.
The premier pacer said that he considered the IND vs PAK match as any other World Cup match which was crucial for the team to victory.
“To be honest, I didn’t feel that the team was playing a match between India and Pakistan. Because this is a World Cup match, and every match is very important for us. Because India and Pakistan are not just important matches, every match is important for us. We are focusing on that one match at a time. We are talking like that. We played 3 matches and won 3-3. The environment is very good,” he added.
For India, the fast bowling trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Hardik Pandya took a couple of wickets each.
Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja also contributed with two wickets apiece as Pakistan were bowled out in 42.5 overs.
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