Watch: A rare India-Pakistan battle with the red ball; Siraj gets Imam ul Haq in the County Championship

Indian seamer Mohammad Siraj enjoyed the better of his county dual with Pakistan opening batter Imam ul Haq in Warwickshire’s County Championship game against Somerset. 

Siraj dismissed Imam with a superb outswinger that the left-hander could only edge on its way to the slip cordon. Having set-up the Somerset batter by plugging away at the channel outside the off-stump, the right-arm quick got him man on a wide one that he attempted hit for a boundary through the point region. 

The pacer got the ball to rise off the good length area and moved it ever so slightly to induce an outside edge that comfortably landed into the hands of the Warwickshire wicketkeeper Michael Burgess. 

Mohammed Siraj gave his team the early breakthrough they so desperately wanted after losing the toss and being asked to bowl first. 

Mohammed Siraj’s maiden county wicket 

The wicket arrived near the halfway mark of the 10th over in the Somerset first-innings batting effort. Setting himself up for a long haul, Imam batted with impressive discipline and composure against the red new Dukes ball. But his eyes lit-up when he saw a widish delivery from Mohammed Siraj.

The left-hander went for a wild shot through the off-side and got an outside edge that flew straight into the hands of the wicketkeeper. Imam may have found optimum connection on his stroke if not for the bounce that Siraj generated with some lateral movement away from the batter. 

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Known for bringing the ball into the left-handers naturally, Siraj got this one to move away just enough to evade the batter’s downswing and induced an edge that triggered his downfall. 

Siraj gets Imam-ul-Haq! 😍

Big wicket.

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— Warwickshire CCC 🏏 (@WarwickshireCCC) September 12, 2022

It was a rare India-Pakistan face-off with the red ball, enabled by the English County Championship in the UK. Playing in Edgbaston, Mohammed Siraj delivered a knock-out punch against Imam, who failed to dispatch a wide ball from the right-arm seamer and was forced to make the long walk back. 

Siraj, out of India’s plans for the T20 World Cup 2022, is in England for the next three weeks on a critical county stint with Warwickshire. The bowler will play two more first-class games for the club before returning to India ahead of the ODI series versus South Africa in October.