It's unbelievable because I was waiting for a long time: Siraj on his six-wicket haul

Birmingham: India pacer Mohammed Siraj said he relished the responsibility of leading the attack in Jasprit Bumrah's absence, describing his sensational six-wicket haul as "unbelievable" after putting the visitors ahead in the second Test against England here on Friday.

Siraj's 6/70 kept India ahead after counter-attacking hundreds from Jamie Smith (184 not out off 207) and Harry Brook (158 off 234) threatened to take the game away on an extraordinary third day here.

"It's unbelievable because I was waiting for a long time. I have been bowling well but not getting wickets. I have only got four-wicket hauls here, so getting six here is very special," Siraj said.

Siraj struck twice in the second over of the day to leave England on the mat at 84 for five before Brook and Smith combined to script the hosts’ remarkable recovery with a 303-run stand off 368 balls.

The 31-year-old from Hyderabad returned to mop up the tail as England ended with 407 all out in response to India's mammoth 587 all out.

Reflecting on his approach, Siraj said the wicket was slow, making it crucial to maintain discipline.

"The wicket was very slow but when you are given a responsibility to lead the attack, my aim was to not try too much and just bowl in the right areas and bowl with discipline. My mindset was to keep it tight and not give away runs," he said.

With Bumrah rested for this Test, Siraj led a relatively inexperienced pace unit comprising Akash Deep and Prasidh Krishna.

"It's Akash Deep's third or fourth match, same for Prasidh, so I was just focused on staying consistent and building pressure. I feel like trying different things, but I have to stay consistent," he said.

Asked about his impressive record when bowling without Bumrah, Siraj said: "I love responsibility, I love the challenge." India are currently 244-runs ahead of England and Siraj said the visitors clearly have the upper hand but emphasised the need to set a big target.

"We are quite ahead right now but the plan is to get as many runs on the board because we know their attacking mindset." he said.

On the pitch behaviour, Siraj said, "Day by day, the pitch is slowing down more. If you keep bowling in one area... If you start leaking runs, it's hard to stop that. We saw that with Smith and Brook. Patience is very important here."