Mohammed Siraj was almost perfect in the 2023 Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka. Under cloudy conditions in Colombo, the Indian cricket team pacer breathed fire as he mercilessly tore apart Sri Lanka’s top spot in the title clash on Sunday. Courtesy of Siraj’s dream opening, India mauled Sri Lanka for 50 in the 2023 Asia Cup final. Over the years, there have been some excellent fast bowlers in Indian cricket, and the team’s performance in the limited- overs format are highly influenced by their abilities.
Several records were broken in the last 90 minutes as Siraj finished with 6 wickets to his name. Four of those wickets came in one over, and there he sealed the fate of the match.
Describing Siraj’s achievement, leading industrialist Anand Mahindra had special praise. “I don’t think I’ve EVER felt my heart care for our opponents… It’s like we unleashed a supernatural force on them…@mdsirajofficial you are a Marvel Avenger…” Mahindra tweeted.
I don’t think I’ve ever felt bad about our opponents before. It’s as if we’ve unleashed a supernatural force on them… @mdsirajofficial you are a Marvel Avenger… https://t.co/DqlWbnXbxq
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) September 17, 2023
Replying to that post, a Twitter user wrote: “Sir, please give him an SUV”
Mahindra then wrote: “Been there, done that…”. Mahindra had gifted Suraj a ‘Thar’ in 2021.
Been there, done that… https://t.co/jBUsxlooZf
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) September 17, 2023
Siraj, a rising star who produced an incredible performance against Sri Lanka in the 2023 Asia Cup final, tops this elite ranking. The India star pacer drew football legend Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature ‘Siuuu’ celebration after taking his five-wicket haul in the final.
After knocking over a maiden, Siraj struck four times in the single over, leaving Sri Lanka reeling at 12/5 after the end of the 4th over.
He got Pathum Nissanka caught from the very first ball of the over. He followed it up with the wickets of Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka on the third and fourth balls of the over respectively. Samarawickrama was trapped, while Asalanka was between the covers.
He left Dhananjaya de Silva behind on the last delivery. He followed up this magical follow-up with another wicket. He cleaned up Shanaka in his next visit. Within 16 balls, ‘Miyan Magic’ completed his five.
With this he completed a five-for-out from just 16 balls. This equals the world record for the fastest five-for (since ball-by-ball data became available). He shares this with Sri Lanka’s Chaminda Vaas, who picked five wickets against Bangladesh from just sixteen balls in the 2003 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Siraj became the second bowler in the Asia Cup 50-over format to take a 6-wicket haul after Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis achieved the figure of 6/13 against India in 2008.
Indian speedster Siraj tore apart Sri Lanka’s batting line-up with a dream spell to end the first innings in 15.2 overs in the 2023 Asia Cup final at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.
With ANI inputs
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