Marnus my favourite wicket, says Mohammed Siraj

Among all wickets, my favourite was Marnus Labuschagne. It was crucial to pluck his wicket at that point of time, says Siraj.

Hyderabad: India's new pace sensation Mohammed Siraj termed the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne as his favourite, saying his stint with India A helped him a great deal in the absence of senior bowlers in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

"Among all wickets, my favourite was Marnus Labuschagne. It was crucial to pluck his wicket at that point of time," the right-handed bowler, who replaced senior fast bowler Umesh Yadav, said during his first press meet after his arrival from Australia.

Siraj dismissed the in-form batsman at a crucial juncture in Brisbane in the second innings when he was at 25 and going fluently, taking on the Indian bowlers and caressing them to the boundary with ease.

One of Siraj's frequent casualties at the start of the innings was Australian opener David Warner who had returned after the injury in the Sydney Test match. Although, the lanky bowler made sure to unsettle the batsman at the very start of his innings, hitting the strip hard and testing both inside and outside edges of the bat.

Siraj ended up taking his wicket twice in Sydney and Brisbane.

"I didn't have any specific plan against David Warner. I thought of bowling him in-swinging deliveries which I also did during the IPL. That ball swung out for him. So I replicated the same in the Test match as well.

There was every reason for a bruised, battered and depleted Indian side sans Bumrah, Umesh and Shami to lose hope against an 11-strong Australian side but the young man from Hyderabad came to rescue a dwindling ship and took it aground. Siraj ended the story with 13 Australian wickets.

What led to such brilliance?

"The team showed tremendous faith in me, trusted me when I was under pressure. There were several injuries. They told me that I am the leader," he said.

The 26-year-old also credited his stint with India A for his performance even as he tried to keep everything "normal" throughout the series.

"I kept thinking that I am playing for India A. That was the mindset. I thought I would be under pressure if think of playing for the Indian (senior) team. I kept everything normal and backed myself," the 26-year-old bowler said.