Edited By: Aditya Maheshwari
Last Updated: January 16, 2023, 07:30 AM IST
Thiruvananthapuram, India
Mohammed Siraj (AP Image)
The premier pacer talked about mixing up his out-swinging deliveries with his wicket-taking scrambled seam balls.
Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj says he tried quite hard to claim his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs on Sunday against Sri Lanka in the final match of the series, played at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram. On a surface where Virat Kohli (166*) and Shubman Gill (116) helped India post a mammoth 390/5, Siraj ran riot with the ball to dismantle Sri Lanka’s batting order.
He claimed four wickets and executed a run-out as the visitors were bundled out for just 73.
Sri Lanka failed to put up any fight as the Men in Blue registered the biggest-ever win in ODI cricket in terms of run margin – 317 runs.
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Rohit Sharma and Co. tried their best for Siraj to get his fifth wicket as well. The skipper put Siraj on the attack when Lanka were eight down and allowed him to bowl his full quota of overs but it wasn’t meant to be.
“I wanted to try and get my first fifer. Tried very hard, but you get only as much as you deserve,” Siraj told broadcasters after the match.
He was brilliant with the new ball once again and provided breakthroughs to break Sri Lanka’s back early. He dismissed the top-order batters Avishka Fernando (1), Nuwanidu Fernando (19) and Kusal Mendis (4) cheaply as Sri Lanka failed to recover from that and kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
With half the side back in the pavilion, panic ensued, resulting in a bizarre run-out of Chamika Karunaratne, who was out of the crease after defending against Siraj, and saw the bowler fire in a direct hit at the striker’s end.
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The premier pacer talked about mixing up his out-swinging deliveries with his wicket-taking scrambled seam balls.
“The outswing was coming out nicely, but the wicket-taking over was the scrambled seam. I just try to generate some doubt in the batter’s mind with those outswing deliveries,” he added.
He further talked highly of skipper Rohit for giving him enough opportunities to claim a fifer. “Captain tried hard to get me that fifer, but what can we do,” he said.
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