IND vs WI Test 2023: Siraj backs Ashwin to 'do the job for India on final day'

Pacer Mohammed Siraj expressed confidence that spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will prove to be more than a handful for the Windies batters on the final day of the second Test on Monday and help the visitors make a clean sweep of the twomatch seriesIndia after setting a 365run target for the hosts to level the series had West Indies struggling at 762 at stumps on day four with veteran spinner Ashwin taking both the wickets on SundayThe Caribbean side still has to score 289 runs to achieve an improbable win on Monday with the wicket assisting spinnersThe way the wicket is behaving Ashwin I feel will run through the West Indies batting the ball is turning said Siraj at the end of days play after India declared their innings at 1812 and then got rid of the dangerous West Indies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite and Kirk McKenzie to leave the hosts in a spot of botherSiraj also disclosed that it was Indias strategy to bat aggressively in the second innings and set a big target quickly for the home sideIndia batters especially Ishan Kishan played T20style cricket notching up 52 off just 34 ballsYes Ishan is an aggressive batter Rishabh Pant is not there so as a wicketkeeper he Ishan is able to fill in for Pants loss to a certain extent if not completelyHe has the ability to hit the ball long and hard He has the ability to hit all around the ground We had enough runs on the board first innings lead so our plan was to score as many runs in the second innings in a short period and then after declaration we would be able to get more overs to bowl out the West IndiesAlso Read They came they played they conqueredSiraj grabbed a fivefor in the first innings which helped India dismiss the West Indies for 255 in response to the visitors 438 and Siraj said bowling tirelessly in these conditions wasnt easyI would rate my performance very high because its not easy to take five wickets on a flat wicket I had set a plan especially when the ball started reverse swinging I executed my line and length perfectlyMy plan was simple since the ball wasnt doing much I kept it stumptostump and also derived some seam he addedHe added that it wasnt easy bowling in hot and humid conditions with frequent rain interruptionsWhen you bowl long spells in this heat and humidity it is not easy Then intermittent rains and to warm up again and again after every rain break it was very challengingSiraj added he was proud to have become the mainstay of the Indian pacebowling unit in a short span of twoandhalf yearsWith Jasprit Bumraj recovering from a back injury and Mohammed Shami rested for the West Indies series the pressure is on Siraj to deliver and the 29yearold quick has not disappointedTo be honest I feel very nice when I get a responsibility when no senior is there When I have responsibility on my shoulders I like it a lot and I like accepting challenges said SirajPacer Mukesh Kumar bowling 23 overs and taking two wickets so far in his debut match also drew praise from Siraj who said the 29yearold bowler easily adjusted to the flat track here as he had bowled extensively on docile wickets in domestic cricketMukesh is not a new player He plays Ranji Trophy regularly and bowls on difficult wickets Its not easy to take wickets in Ranji Trophy where wickets are even more flat than the one at Port of SpainPerforming in domestic cricket is a huge achievement and then coming here and controlling your nerves is not easy He is playing his first match for India and that too a Test and he is bowling long spells added SirajWith PTI inputs