ENG vs IND: "He's got this like fake angriness about him"- Joe Root impressed by 'warrior' Mohammed Siraj

Mohammed Siraj is the leading wicket-taker in ENG vs IND test series.

England batter Joe Root has heaped praise on Mohammed Siraj following his magnificent bowling performance in the test series between England and India. The pacer is the leading wicket-taker in the series, with 20 wickets across five matches.

Not only the wickets, but he has also shown a wonderful level of fitness in the series and has been part of all five matches. In the ongoing fifth test at The Oval, London, the 31-year-old clinched four wickets for 86 runs in the first innings and has picked up two wickets so far in the second innings.

England need 35 more runs to win the fifth test, however, they have only four wickets left. On day four, England went on the back foot after losing set batters Harry Brook and Joe Root in quick succession. At the stumps of day four, they reached 339/6.

He’s got this like fake angriness about him sometimes – Joe Root on Mohammed Siraj

At the end of play on day four, Root hailed Siraj during the press conference and called him a warrior. Root is also impressed with Siraj’s approach while bowling.

“He’s a character, a warrior, he’s a real warrior. He’s someone that you want on your team; he’s that kind of character. He gives everything for India, and credit to him for that, the way he approaches cricket,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.

“He’s got this like fake angriness about him sometimes, which I can see straight through. He’s actually a really nice lad, but he tries it incredibly hard. He’s a very skillful player; there’s a reason why he’s got all those wickets,” he added.

Root said that he enjoys playing against Siraj and considers him a great example for emerging players.

“It’s because of his work ethic and skill level. I enjoy playing against him. He’s always got a big smile on his face, and he’ll give everything for his team. So I guess you couldn’t want anything more of that as fan watching, and he’s a great example to any young players starting out,” he added.

Meanwhile, Root and Harry Brook hammered centuries on day 4 of the Oval test to drive England closer to victory. With 537 runs in nine innings at an average of 67.12, Root is the highest run-scorer for England and second second-highest run-getter in the series.

With a century in second innings of The Oval test, Root registered his 39th test century and leapfrogged Kumar Sangakkara (38) in the list of batsmen with the most centuries in the longest format of the game. He also became the first batsman to reach the milestone of 6000 runs in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) history.

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