ENG vs IND: Siraj pays tribute to Liverpool star Diogo Jota after Jamie's wicket at Lord’s (WATCH)
Synopsis
During the 3rd Test vs England, Mohammed Siraj paid tribute to late footballer Diogo Jota by forming '20' with his fingers after a wicket, honouring the Liverpool star who tragically died in a car crash with his brother Andre Silva.
Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj paid a heartfelt tribute to late Liverpool star Diogo Jota during Day 2 of the ongoing third Test in the five-match series against England at Lord’s in London on Friday, July 11.
Only July 3, the sporting world was left in shock upon hearing the news of the tragic death of Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva. The incident took place on the A-52 highway in the province of Zamora. It was reported that Jota and his brother Silva, who is also a professional footballer, were travelling in a vehicle when the car suddenly went off the road near the municipality of Palacios de Sanabria.
Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva were travelling in a Lamborghini, which skidded off the road and immediately caught fire, reportedly leaving them trapped inside the vehicle, which resulted in their tragic deaths. The blow on the tyre was believed to have caused loss of control of the car, leading fatal crash and claiming the lives of Portuguese football brothers.
Siraj’s heartfelt tribute to Diogo Jota
As the sporting world is still reeling from the tragic and sudden demise of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, Mohammed Siraj did not forget to honour the late Liverpool star in his own way after dismissing Jamie Smith in England’s first innings batting.
On the second delivery of the 107th over, Mohammed Siraj delivered a swinging off-length delivery to Jamie Smith, who tried to punch away from his body but ended up getting edged to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel. Surprisingly, the pacer did not go Cristiano Ronaldo-style celebration this time, but instead paid tribute to Diogo Jota.
After dismissing Jamie, Mohammed Siraj formed the number ‘20’ with his fingers, a nod to Jota’s Liverpool jersey number and looked up to the sky in a heartfelt tribute to the late Portuguese football star.
It was Mohammed Siraj’s first wicket of the match before getting his scalp by dismissing Brydon Carse for 56 to wrap up England’s innings. After toiling throughout Day 1 and a morning session of Day 2, Siraj finally got the reward of his persistence with the ball. The 31-year-old’s two wickets in the second session helped Team India to bundle out 387 in 112.3 overs.
Jasprit Bumrah shines with a five-wicket haul
Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah delivered a brilliant performance with the ball as he registered yet five-wicket haul in the ongoing five-match Test series against England. Bumrah got his fifer of his series in the first innings before going wicketless in the second innings of the Headingley Test.
Bumrah was rested for the Edgbaston Test due to workload management, and wanted to be fit for the crucial Test at Lord’s. Two weeks of rest have seemed to have paid off as India’s lead pacer picked five wickets. The 31-year-old picked up wickets of Harry Brook, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer to register figures of 5/74 at an economy rate of 2.70 in 27 overs.
With his second five-wicket haul of the ongoing England Test series, Jasprit Bumrah has registered 13 fifers away from home in Tests, surpassing Kapil Dev’s record of 12 fifers in overseas Test matches.