Asia Cup Final: The Siraj Show
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
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By Linus Garg
First publised on 2023-09-19 02:01:07
About the Author
Linus tackles things head-on. He takes sides in his analysis and it fits excellently with our editorial policy. No 'maybe's' and 'allegedly' for him, only things in black and white.
View all posts by this Author
There was a huge chance that rain would either wash away or truncate the Asia Cup final between India and Sri Lanka at Colombo. Rain did delay the start of the match but in the end, it was the sheer brilliance of Mohammad Siraj which truncated the match to just over 21 overs and it ended within two-and-a- half hours. Bowling with a perfect line and length and using the overcast conditions to his advantage, Siraj was almost unplayable for the first four overs and gave a master class in seam bowling. He broke the spine of Lankan batting by taking four wickets in his second over (the fourth of the innings). Using all the tricks in the armoury of a seam bowler, Siraj made the ball swing both ways and also beat the batters with sheer pace. The Lankans made things worse for themselves by not showing any application and their shot selection was atrocious. Siraj ended with 6 wickets for 21 runs, the best bowling figures by an Indian in the Asia Cup. Sri Lanka could make only 50 and Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill knocked the required runs in just 6.1 overs.
The decision to bat first after winning the toss backfired for the Lankans as the overcast conditions helped the Indian seamers. Jasprit Bumrah drew first blood in the first over by getting Kusal Perera to edge one to K L Rahul. After that, it was Siraj magic all the way but Hardik Pandya also chipped in with 3 wickets as the Lankans were all at sea.
It was a fantastic performance by the Indian team and showed that it peaked at the right time. The match was supposed to be a test of Indian batting against the wiles of Sri Lankan spinners, led by the young Wellalage who had cleaned out the Indian top order in the last match. But in the end, the Sri Lankan batters let their side down and did not put enough on the board to allow their spinners to play a role in the game.
