[Watch] Zak Crawley Welcomes Homeboy Siraj in Hyderabad With Back-To-Back Fours
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Zak Crawley (X.com)
England opener Zak Crawley unleashed ‘Bazball’ intent from ball one as he greeted local boy Mohammed Siraj with two consecutive fours on the first day of the Hyderabad Test.
After much anticipation, India finally took on England for the opening game of the five-game Test series earlier today in Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.
The English side opted to field four spinners in a brave move, whereas the hosts chose to go ahead with Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and three spinners.
Having said that, Ben Stokes won the toss and opted to bat first. Needless to say, the visitors were expected to continue with the bazball approach. However, opener Zak Crawley took it a notch higher and put the Indians under pressure from ball one.
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After taking time to settle in the first over, Crawley welcomed local boy Siraj in style. He greeted him with two back-to-back boundaries on the very first two deliveries of his opening spell.
That being said, Siraj was clearly struggling with his line and length. For the first delivery, he bowled a leg stump half volley, which Crawley flicked away between mid-wicket and mid-on.
For the next delivery, Siraj moved the length up. But due to a lack of seam movement, Crawley used an on-driver to add four more runs to his team’s tally.
Notably, ahead of the Test match, Siraj reckoned how playing with bazball intent is dangerous on Indian pitches. The fast bowlers cited the unpredictability of subcontinental conditions as logical reasoning behind their opinion.
Interestingly, he warned England to refrain from playing aggressive shots or else his team would end the Test in under two days.
However, the tables turned in the first 10 minutes of the game as the English openers unleashed wrath with their infamous bazball approach.
Eventually, England managed to attack in the first hour. However, India is crawling its way back with two much-needed breakthroughs.
 "Akshita Patel")
