- By Himanshu Badola
- Sun, 17 Sep 2023 04:30 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Mohammed Siraj was on fire against Sri Lanka in the final of the Asia Cup 2023 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, September.
The star pacer ran through Sri Lanka’s top order to become the fourth fastest Indian to claim 50 wickets in one-day internationals, picking up four wickets in an over.
He also created history as he equaled the record of the fastest five-wicket haul in ODIs (in terms of balls).
Siraj started off with a maiden over post Kusal Perera's early dismissal off Jasprit Bumrah in the first over of the match.
He then produced one of the best overs in the history of the competition, claiming four wickets to destroy Sri Lanka’s batting order.
Siraj removed opener Pathum Nissanka with Ravindra Jadeja taking a brilliant catch at the backward point. He then dismissed the in-form Sadeera Samarawickrama on the third ball of his over. On the very next delivery, Siraj temped Charith Asalanka to drive the ball straight into the hands of Ishan Kishan.
Mohammad Siraj is the first Indian bowler to pick four wickets in an over (where ball-by-ball data is available).
After being hit for a boundary in the second last ball of the over, Siraj came back with a beauty as Dhananjaya de Silva edged one to the keeper to leave Sri Lanka in massive trouble at 12 for 5. He came back in the fifth over to clean up Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka to complete his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs.
He took just 16 balls to complete his five-wicket haul as India took the upper hand early in the contest.
Rohit Sharma-led side finished at the top of the Super Four table, defeating Pakistan by a huge margin of 228 runs, before beating hosts Sri Lanka by 41 runs in a tight contest.
The Men in Blue suffered a loss against Bangladesh, picking up their only defeat in the Asia Cup, having already made it to the final.
In the final, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bat first.
India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
Sri Lanka Playing XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis (WK), Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dasun Shanaka (C), Dunith Wellalage, Dushan Hemantha, Pramod Madushan, Matheesha Pathirana.
