The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma showered immense praise on Mohammed Siraj after the young pacer bowled a brilliant spell of 4/32 in the 3rd and final ODI of a 3-match series against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. Siraj was the highest wicket-taker in the series as he scalped 9 wickets in 3 matches. Mohammed Siraj was bidding to become the first India pacer to pick up a 5-wicket haul in men’s ODIs at home since Zaheer Khan in 2007.
Mohammed Siraj took 4 wickets in the first 10 overs of the Sri Lankan chase of 391, rattling the top order with a fiery spell with the new ball. Captain Rohit Sharma kept persisting with Siraj even as Sri Lanka lost wickets at a rapid pace. Siraj went all out with Rohit offering him 4 slips and a gully in his last couple of overs. However, right after Siraj completed his quota of overs, Kuldeep Yadav picked up the last Sri Lankan wicket to fall as the visitors were bowled out for 73 India won by the biggest-ever margin of 317 runs.
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During the post-match presentation, Mohammed Siraj said, “We tried all sorts of things but it didn’t happen, unfortunately. But the four wickets are all his and the fifers will come. He has a few tricks up his sleeves which he is working on and his confidence is there to be seen.”
𝗕𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗢𝗗𝗜𝘀!#TeamIndia register a comprehensive victory by 3️⃣1️⃣7️⃣ runs and seal the @mastercardindia #INDvSL ODI series 3️⃣-0️⃣ 👏👏
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/q4nA9Ff9Q2……… pic.twitter.com/FYpWkPLPJA
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 15, 2023
Rohit Sharma said the young fast bowler, who made his ODI debut in January 2019, is growing from strength to strength and it augurs well for the team in the World Cup year.
Mohammed Siraj shone in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who has been on the sidelines due to an injury over the last few months. The Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer scalped 24 wickets in 2022 and has 9 more in 2023 to make sure he is one of the first names on the team sheet in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup.
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Elaborating the same, Rohit Sharma said, “Good to see how he (Siraj) was bowling and he deserved all those slips. He is a rare talent, the way he has come up over the last few years is good to see. He has come from strength to strength and that’s really good for Indian cricket.”
Mohammed Siraj, who is not part of the scheme of things in T20Is, will be back for the ODI series against New Zealand, starting January 18.
