Fiery India seamer Mohammed Siraj seems to have a special liking for the Sri Lanka batting order. After a lethal spell of swing bowling in the Asia Cup 2023 final, Siraj renewed his love affair with Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup, snapping up three wickets off the first seven deliveries he bowled to leave the Lankans tottering in response to India's formidable target of 358. (Highlights | Scorecard | Pics | Report | Points Table | Full Coverage)
Siraj followed up new-ball partner Jasprit Bumrah's outstanding first over with an even better second one, taking wickets off his first and fifth deliveries. Siraj then came back for his second over and picked up another wicket off its first ball to dismantle the Sri Lanka top order. He accounted for opener Dimuth Karunaratne, skipper Kusal Mendis and middle-order batter Sadeera Samarawickrama. You can catch a glimpse of Siraj's sensational bowling in the video below.
Siraj's last game against Sri Lanka was the Asia Cup final, where he wreaked havoc with a deadly six-wicket haul, including four wickets in an over and five wickets off 16 deliveries. In the process, he became the fourth-fastest Indian to complete 50 ODI wickets, and also the first Indian to pluck five wickets in the Asia Cup final.
Earlier, India scored a mammoth total of 357/8 in their 50 overs, thanks to top-class knocks from Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill. The duo combined for a pivotal 189-run partnership to take India to a strong position. Kohli eventually fell 12 runs short of equalling Tendulkar's record of 49 ODI centuries, but he broke another major ODI record of his. Kohli has now notched up 1000-plus ODI runs in a calendar year eight times, surpassing Tendulkar's record of seven such calendar years.
