Mumbai, Dec 4 (UNI) India pacer Mohammed Siraj said he learnt from the mistakes of New Zealand bowlers to pick three top wickets, which saw visitors skittling out for a mere 62 runs in first innings of the second Test at Wankhede Stadium here on Saturday.
"I observed the New Zealand bowlers. they bowled far too far away from the off stump. So I hit upon a plan to land the ball on the stumps and find if I will get the swing. So, I noticed I was getting the swing and continued doing so. So, I succeeded in getting wickets," he told reporters at post-second day's play press conference.
Siraj played a stellar role in getting New Zealand bowled out for 62 runs in the first innings after bagging three top wickets in quick succession.
On the extraordinary delivery that got the prize wicket of Ross Taylor, Siraj said it was a dream ball for any fast bowler, but honestly he bowled against the plan of the team, which had set the field for an inswinger.
"We had planned to bowl an inswinger to hit his (Taylor) pads, but I decided on bowling an outswinger instead, because I was bowling in a rhythm. It was a dream delivery for any fast bowler," he said.
Siraj said he practised very hard to bowl at the single stump to get the line perfect when he was out of the squad due to an injury. "I pretty well knew that he would not get long spells due to the spinning tracks once I returned to the squad. Therefore, I practised with one stump on to get my bowling right. This helped me very much coming into this match," he said.
UNI BDN GNK 2052