It was nothing, I was just enjoying: Siraj on aggressively throwing ball at Steve Smith

It wasn’t the day that India would have preferred to begin with or to continue on from. The ideal moment for Indian bowlers to cause harm came in the opening hour of Day 2 against a powerful batting performance from Australia with a well-positioned Steve Smith and Travis Head at the crease.

Instead, Steve Smith reached his triple-figure milestone, finishing third at the Oval and ninth against India, on two poor deliveries from Mohammed Siraj, and the bowler engaged the batter in a passionate match that failed to excite the audience. Later, Siraj provided a weird justification for how he felt about the on-field performance.

It was nothing, I was just enjoying: Siraj justifies his intentions after aggressively throwing the ball at Steve Smith

Siraj delivered two consecutive half-volleys in the opening over of Day 2 of the WTC Final, which Smith hit into boundaries to become the second batter in the Australian lineup to reach a century following Travis Head.

When Siraj was about to run up for the next ball, Smith abruptly withdrew due to a problem with the spider cam. Siraj hurled the ball towards Smith in a rage after receiving back-to-back boundaries. The pacer was not impressed at all as the batter continued claiming that it was the camera.

At the end of Day 2, when Siraj was asked to explain the reason behind his act, he said he was only “enjoying” it.

“It’s nothing. It was just some enjoyment. If you enjoy – your mind will be relaxed. If you take too much pressure, it will affect your bowling. So, it’s nothing,” he said.

When further pressed on whether it was part of his plan to agitate Smith, he said: “It was nothing. No plans of frustrating him. I was just enjoying my bowling. I was frustrated at that time.”

In their 285-run partnership, Smith went on to hit 121 runs and Head a record 163, helping Australia reach 469 runs in the first innings.

The right-arm bowler also discussed his thoughts on the short-ball strategy against Head that led to his significant Day 2 wicket. According to Siraj, the squad adhered to a strategy for the Indian pacers to use against the Australian batter.

Also read: Mohammed Siraj completes 50 wickets in Tests after dismissing Nathan Lyon on Day 2 of WTC 2023 Final

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