Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj was seen wiping away tears during the national anthem ahead of the third Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.

Having made his international Test debut for the country during the second match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground a couple of weeks ago, Siraj did some early damage in Sydney as he dismissed Australian batting superstar David Warner for just five runs in eight deliveries.

#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/4NK95mVYLN

Siraj’s journey to the Indian white kit came at a great loss as he lost his father last year just when he’d arrived in Australia for the series. However, instead of going back to his family, for which the BCCI had made all the arrangements, he decided to stick with his squad and prepare for the challenges that were on his way.

"He wished that I continue playing for India and make my country proud," Siraj had addressed his father’s wish at the time of his demise. "I just want to fulfil my father's dream."

- An appreciation for Siraj,

Lad lost his father, stayed back and did the best he could and now, he is a part of a historic team and performing well
.
His father must be proud
. #RohitSharma #AUSvIND #AUSvsIND #INDvsAUS pic.twitter.com/Bd8yNWkEL9

Due to a fracture in Team India veteran Mohammed Shami’s arm during the first Test match at the Adelaide Oval, Siraj finally got his time to shine and he didn’t disappoint even a bit. 

With a personal performance of 2/40 and 3/37 in the first and second innings of the Boxing Day Test, respectively, the pacer enabled a struggling Team India make a historic comeback against the hosts and tied the series at 1-1.

The Sydney Test came to a halt after only 7.1 overs of play as multiple rain interruptions spoiled the first session of Day 1.

View the full article