‘Yahi se match harenge aapn’ – Fans react as Mohammed Siraj opens up on throwing ball at Steve Smith during WTC 2023 final

Steve Smith got Australia off to a fantastic start at The Oval as they resumed Day 2 of their World Test Championship match against India on 327/3. The 34-year-old, who is unquestionably the best Test batter of this generation, scored his 31st hundred in the longest format after hitting two consecutive fours on Mohammed Siraj’s first over of the day.

Australia was asked to bat first, which naturally irritated the Indian players who watched them bat on Day 1 and the way they started the second day.

After Smith slammed two consecutive boundaries, Siraj was about to throw the next ball when Smith moved from the crease due to Spider Cam’s worries. Smith was not prepared to play since it was too near to him while he was batting. Siraj, who was not pleased with the circumstances, threw the ball toward the direction of the wicket but far from Smith. The star player attempted to explain to Siraj why he went away, but Siraj was not happy with this and didn’t entertain that.

We planned and came today that we will keep attacking Travis Head with bouncers: Mohammad Siraj

When Siraj was asked to give an explanation for his behavior at the conclusion of Day 2, he said that he was just “enjoying” it.

“It’s nothing. It was just some enjoyment. If you enjoy it – your mind will be relaxed. If you take too much pressure, it will affect your bowling. So, it’s nothing. It was nothing. No plans of frustrating him. I was just enjoying my bowling. I was frustrated at that time,” Siraj was quoted as saying after the end of play on Day 2.

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.

“We planned and came today that we will keep attacking Travis Head with bouncers. We told ourselves that if he hits those bouncers, then no problem, but we will stick to our plan and we got our success. We tried bowling bouncers to Travis Head yesterday also, We created chances but they all fell in the gaps. We created a lot of chances. 4 or 5 chances fell in the gap in my bowling. If it had gone to hands, it would have been a different story,” the right-arm seamer asserted.

Here’s how fans reacted  after seeing this:

https://twitter.com/DaveDhruveel/status/1667031073715372032

https://twitter.com/PatelRikken/status/1667016591429496836

https://twitter.com/EeshwarReddyG/status/1667014344734044161

Yahi se match harenge aapn

— Er Archit Pandey (@ArchitP54931960) June 9, 2023

Shi h bhai. Kl koi ek Banda toh aggressive dikh rha tha.

— Kartik Dangi (@kartik0502) June 9, 2023

Negative Aggression chhod de bhai

— . (@AamirsABD) June 9, 2023

https://twitter.com/vimdhayak_p/status/1667013007896100865

Ridiculous

— Murali V (@MuraliV15678298) June 9, 2023