3 things you need to know about Mohammed Siraj's 5-wicket haul
Hyderabad pacer Mohammed Siraj bowled his heart out on Monday to record his first-ever 5 wicket haul in Test cricket. The 26-year-old used the widening cracks on the Gabba wicket to good use and helped India restrict the hosts to 294 in their second innings.
Marnus Labuschagne was Siraj's first victim on Monday, as the batsman couldn't help poking a delivery from a good length to Rohit Sharma. Wicketkeeper-batsman Matthew Wade followed suit and was dismissed down the leg by Mohammed Siraj.
However, the best of the lot was the wicket of Steve Smith. The number 2 ranked Test batsman couldn't deal with a brutal delivery from Mohammed Siraj, which jumped off a good length, kissed his gloves and flew to Ajinkya Rahane at gully.
Mitchell Starc was the next to fall as he couldn't clear a drive past mid-off, which led to an easy catch for Navdeep Saini.
Josh Hazlewood then miscued a ramp shot to third-man and granted Siraj arguably the proudest moment of his career. The pacer soaked in the applause from the Brisbane crowd as he led his team to the pavilion with the ball held high in his hands.
Below are three impressive feats that Mohammed Siraj achieved with his remarkable five-wicket haul.
Mohammed Siraj is the only Indian bowler to take a 5-wicket haul in the current series
This has been an emotional tour for Mohammed Siraj. The player had to deal with his father's passing just before the tour and made an unexpected debut in the Test series. Aside from this, Siraj allegedly had to deal with racial jibes from the Sydney crowd. Finally, he had to lead India's pace attack at the daunting Gabba in only his 3rd Test match.
The bowler, though, was sensational throughout and capped this memorable tour with a fine performance. Mohammed Siraj is now the only Indian bowler to take a 5-wicket haul across all formats in the current tour.
Siraj's figures are the second-best by an Indian seamer at the Gabba
Mohammed Siraj took his 5 wickets at the cost of 73 runs in the ongoing Test. For a seamer at the Gabba, Siraj's figures are only second to Madan Lal's 5-72, which was recorded in 1977.
Siraj is the fifth Indian to take a 5-wicket haul at the Gabba
After Erapalli Prasanna (1968), Bishan Singh Bedi (1977), Madan Lal (1977) and Zaheer Khan (2003), Mohammed Siraj is only the 5th Indian to take a 5-wicket haul at the Gabba in Brisbane.