On Saturday, January 4, Day 2 of the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), Mohammed Siraj defeated dangerous batsmen Travis Head and Sam Konstas in the same over. The Hyderabad pacer dismissed Konstas and Head in two deliveries after bowling four good overs with little success in his opening stint on Saturday.
On Day 2, Mohammed Siraj began moving forward with his captain, Jasprit Bumrah.
The latter defeated Marnus Labuschagne, giving India their first victory of the day. Siraj entered the game a few overs later and put an end to Sam Konstas’ 38-ball middle-field stint. The right-arm pacer enticed Konstas into a drive with a full delivery that was just outside the off-stump. With firm hands, the latter gained a thick edge that carried comfortably to Yashasvi Jaiswal’s left at the gully.
The duel between Bumrah and Konstas dominated much of the build-up to Day 2, but Siraj was able to remove the 19-year-old. Knowing how important the wicket was to Konstas, the Indians were cock-a-whoop. Siraj, though, was only beginning.
To get his line and length adjusted to the left-handed Head, the 30-year-old needed only two deliveries. With a hint of additional bounce, the southpaw bowled a back-of-a-length ball that skidded off the surface. Head was caught in a tangle when the ball slipped away and went straight to KL Rahul at second slip because he didn’t adjust his feet.
Watch both the wickets here:
𝐃𝐒𝐏 𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐉 𝐎𝐍 𝐃𝐔𝐓𝐘! 🫡#MohammedSiraj makes two in the over, sending #SamKonstas and #TravisHead to the dugout! 🔥#AUSvINDOnStar 👉 5th Test, Day 2 | LIVE NOW! | #ToughestRivalry #BorderGavaskarTrophy pic.twitter.com/720cYxlsnu
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) January 4, 2025
Head’s wicket fell in the 12th over, as the home team collapsed to 39/4. Steven Smith will have the responsibility of bringing his team closer to India’s first innings score of 185, which is still a long way off. The World Test Champions won’t be overly upset just yet, especially since their lower-order hitters have scored a lot of runs in the series’ opening games.
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