SRI LANKA:Team India produced a carnage performance in the final of the Asia Cup against hosts Sri Lanka in Colombo as they defeated the defending champions with a record-breaking win on Sunday (September 17).
It was a good toss to lose for Rohit Sharma as it turned out his pacers handed him the title on a plate by castling the Sri Lankan batting lineup. Jasprit Bumrah opened the proceedings with an early wicket of Kusal Perera and Mohammed Siraj just could not stop breathing fire as he toyed with the batters with some serious unplayable pace and swing.
Multiple records were broken, courtesy of Siraj's dream spell which ripped the heart out of Sri Lanka as they got bowled out for just 50 runs in the final. His first victim was opener Pathum Nissanka who was caught by Ravindra Jadeja at point with a sensational effort, followed up by Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charisth Asalanka off the third and fourth balls.
In the final delivery, Dhananjaya de Silva was caught behind by KL Rahul and to put the icing on the cake, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka was castled with a stunning delivery in the next over. Siraj took his fifer within 16 balls.
After the 'Miyan Magic', India captain decided to let the young guns get the job done and he sent Ishan Kishan along side Shubman Gill to open the batting. Both youngsters chased the target of 51 runs with easy in 5.1 oversOn Mohammed Siraj becoming the first Indian to pick 4 wickets in a single over in international cricket and receiving a massage on the field, Irfan Pathan said, "If you bowl like this, you don't need a massage table; the massage comes to you on the field. Well done, Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah."
Sharing his excitement after India’s stellar performance in the first innings of the Asia Cup 2023 final, Mohammed Siraj, the star bowler who became the first Indian to pick 4 wickets in a single over in international cricket, said, "This feels like a dream. Last time against Sri Lanka in Trivandrum, I had taken four wickets early on but couldn’t take five. However, after that, I realized you can only perform as well as your fate allows. Today was no different. I executed my line and length without much experimentation, and that automatically led to the wickets."Regarding 6 out of his 7 wickets coming from the slot length, the bowler added, "I was getting so much swing, so I tried to tempt the batsmen forward. My plan was to generate as much swing as possible and then aim for a wicket."