Rarely do you see a fast bowler bowling 6 overs on a trot with the new-ball in an ODI match. But such was Mohammed Siraj bowling rhythm today with the new-ball in the Asia Cup 2023 final vs Sri Lanka in Colombo, that you’d want him to bowl all of his 10 overs on a trot and take all wickets that were available to him to dismiss.
If ‘Breathing Fire’ was a bowling spell, it could not have been epitomized better than Mohammed Siraj’s new-ball burst in the final vs Sri Lanka where he claimed 6 wickets in 6 overs to all but seal the final.
While Jasprit Bumrah took the first wicket on the third ball of the match, it was Mohammed Siraj who wreaked havoc on the Lankans in his 6 overs. He started off with a maiden and then took 4 wickets in his second over.
In his third over, Siraj knocked over Dasun Shanaka, the Sri Lankan skipper, and conceded just two more runs in his next two overs to keep figures of 5-1-7-5.
It seemed that Rohit Sharma might give Siraj some rest for his marathon five-over spell – no, the fun wasn’t over yet as Mohammed Siraj bowled another over, and scalped another wicket in it. His new-ball spell read jaw-dropping figures of 6-1-13-6.
The match and the Asia Cup trophy all but in India’s pocket at that point and only the formalities remained.
He had completed his five-wicket haul in only 16 balls. This is now the joint-fastest ODI five-wicket haul in ODI history, equalling the 16-ball record set by former Sri Lankan pacer Chaminda Vaas vs Bangladesh in 2003.
Fans came up with hilarious memes, out of which one funny tweet was posted by former India batsman Wasim Jaffer.
Jaffer tweeted: “Ok Google, play Mohd Siraj” “Sorry, Mohd Siraj is unplayable!”
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, and it turned to be horrific for his side.
Teams:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul(w), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis(w), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka(c), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana
