NEW DELHI: Star India pacer Mohammed Siraj, who ripped through the West Indies batting lineup with a brilliant four-wicket haul on the opening day of the first Test in Ahmedabad, said he was thrilled to bowl on a lively surface. Having played a key role in India's drawn series against England earlier this year, Siraj picked up right where he left off, finishing with figures of 4/40 as the visitors were bundled out for 162 in just 44.1 overs. Captain Shubman Gill has been vocal about wanting pitches that offer a fair contest between bat and ball rather than rank turners, and Siraj delivered the perfect response by spearheading the attack and putting India in control from the outset. A quick wicket going into the second session as @mdsirajofficial picks up his fourth wicket of the innings.The West Indies Skipper departs with 105/6 on the board.Live - https://t.co/Dhl7RtjvWY #INDvWI #1stTEST #TeamIndia @IDFCfirstbank pic.twitter.com/wfJ7oyrLYx — BCCI (@BCCI) October 2, 2025 At stumps, India reached 121/2, still 41 runs adrift but firmly in command with eight wickets in hand. "I was very excited to bowl on this green-top wicket, something we don't get very often in India in Test cricket. The last time we had such a wicket was against New Zealand in Bengaluru so I was very excited to bowl on it," Siraj told the media after stumps on day one. Although much of the green covering was trimmed before the Test, the surface still offered ample movement with the new ball. Mohammed Siraj exploited it superbly with his trademark wobble-seam deliveries, striking three times in the morning session to give India the early upper hand. He produced a peach to send Brandon King’s middle stump flying after the batter left one alone, before removing skipper Roston Chase with a sharp angled delivery. Siraj said the delivery he bowled to Chase surprised him as well. "With the wobble seam, the ball either comes in or cuts out. But that delivery kept straightening from the shiny side while I had bowled it with wobble seam," he said. Talking about King's dismissal, the India seamer said, "I was able to execute it the way I had planned for it. Two balls before, he was hit on the pads. I thought about bowling in the line of the stumps and I was able to execute what I had thought of." Coming off a long England series in which Siraj's persistent efforts helped India earn 2-2 draw, the fast bowler admitted he felt confident having done well against a strong side on their home grounds. "It was a very competitive series in England and, of course, I got a lot of confidence from it. To perform against a strong side gives a different kind of confidence and I felt it today as well," he said. "I took off for three weeks, then resumed training and bowling and played the India A game. When you play after a long gap, you also learn about your rhythm. It was very hot in Lucknow but I had a good preparation before the series. I followed up on my rhythm from the England tour but I enjoyed this break which I got after several years. "I had to work hard for these four wickets here as well. Even in England, I had to work hard for getting wickets, it's not the case that you can get wickets just like that. No one gave me the fifth wicket (today), I had to take all four with hard work," he said. West Indies' Jomel Warrican said his team failed to capitalise on key moments, adding that they will have to be more disciplined with their effort going forward. "We just failed to capitalise on the key moments in the game. We need to seize those key moments. For example, we had a key partnership between Shai (Hope) and Roston just before lunch, but we let India back into the game. That's something as a unit we need to improve on and we definitely know we're going to learn going forward," he said. "Discipline is the key here right now, obviously our first series total (on Thursday) was not a big one, so we have to be extremely disciplined as a bowling unit, and we're going to stick to our plans as long as possible," he added. (With PTI Inputs)