Mohammed Siraj bowled a fantasy opening spell with the new ball in the 2023 Asia Cup between India and Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on September 17 (Sunday). The right-arm pacer wreaked havoc with the new ball in the final and ran through the Sri Lankan batting line-up with a venomous spell. After starting his spell with a maiden, Siraj bagged four wickets in the second over and came back to complete his five-wicket haul in the third over. As a result, Sri Lanka were reduced to 12/6 inside 5.4 overs.
Siraj bagged five wickets in his 16 deliveries bowled in the final. It was absolutely incredible scenes at the R Premadasa Stadium as Siraj single-handedly stunned the home crowd and everyone watching on television. The right-arm pacer got an extended spell from captain Rohit Sharma and he delivered the goods yet again. In the 12th over, Siraj once against struck timber and sent Kusal Mendis packing to the dressing room.
While Siraj gave numerous joyous moments to onlookers with his mindboggling spell of bowling, he was also part of the 'funniest moment' of this year's Asia Cup. The moment transpired on the fifth ball of the fourth ball when Siraj was on a hat-trick. Dhananjaya de Silva, who was on strike, punched the ball towards the vacant mid-on region. Siraj, with a smile on his face, ran full-throttle to the boundary in an attempt to save the ball from reaching the cushion. While Siraj didn't succeed in his pursuit, everyone watching burst into laughter, including Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya.
Watch the video here:
Meanwhile, ahead of the start of 2023 Asia Cup final between India and Sri Lanka, Siraj's gesture won the hearts of onlookers. Siraj posed for a picture with the ground staff before the match got underway at the R Premadasa Stadium. The moment transpired just before the start of the match when ground staff, for the umpteenth time, showed their quickness and covered the ground with covers and then uncovered it quickly. As a result, the match started just 40 minutes after the scheduled start time as rain paid a visit after the toss in Colombo.
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