Kept believing myself regardless of the format: Siraj

Over the last two months, Mohammed Siraj has proved himself in the ODI format of the game for India. Not only has he been a consistent threat with the new ball, the right-arm pacer has also challenged the various batters through his time with the ball. The 28-year-old ended with figures of 1/16 in the second ODI against Zimbabwe, as India took a 2-0 lead in the series. 

"In West Indies and England also I bowled well, my rhythm was good in the first match as well, so my plan was to hit an area consistently without worrying whether I will get wickets or not," Siraj said in the post-match press conference. 

The right-arm pacer has been a consistent part of the ODI setup since the England tour, playing all the ODIs that India have played over the last month. 

"I just kept belief on myself, because ups and downs are part of everyone's life, so I just kept belief that I can do it no matter if it is a white ball or red ball.”

Siraj insisted that the key to his success was nothing extraordinary but bowling the right areas and building up a scoreboard pressure with dot-balls. 

"So just wanted to keep hitting the right areas and bowl dot balls to build up pressure on the opposition. Starting with the new ball, I went for wickets a few times but as you know white ball doesn't swing much, so I was planning to consistently hit one area and bowl maiden overs."

Both KL Rahul and now Siraj emphasised that there was no sort of panic in the Indian dressing room even when they were in a precarious position, at 100/4. 

"Because the total was 160 or something. We were 100 for 4 but there was no panic in the dressing room because we needed just 40 runs after Ishan Kishan's wicket."

Siraj opined that the head coach for the Zimbabwe tour, VVS Laxman has given him ample of confidence through the series, adding that the former Indian batter understands the pacer’s skillsets. 

"Laxman sir was part of Sunrisers Hyderabad (in IPL) when I was selected for the first time. He understands my skills and gives me a lot of confidence and it feels good when a coach is around."