RCB’s pace bowler Mohammed Siraj is normally known as a very expensive bowler. His arrival at the bowling end is what the batsmen really wait for. But in this IPL season, Siraj is in a new form altogether.
By virtue of his excellent bowling performance, Siraj on Wednesday created history as he became the first bowler to bowl two maiden overs in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match. He also picked the important wickets of Rahul Tripathi, Nitish Rana and Tom Banton in three overs. With this, Siraj proved that he has not only learnt the skill of saving runs but also knows how to clinch big wickets of the rival teams.
In his first over, Siraj picked wickets of Rahul and Nitish and in the next over he got rid of Banton. He dismissed Rahul with short of length delivery, and Nitish on an out-swinging yorker delivery. Banton fell prey to scrambled seam delivery involving the edge of the bat nicking it to the keeper. Siraj gave away just eight runs off four overs. The remarkable specialty of his bowling was length ball, short bowling at regular interval in between and scrambled seam balls.
With these bowling, Siraj wreaked havoc and demolished the big batsmen of KKR. After the match Siraj said when Nitish Rana came into bat, Virat Kohli suggested him to bowl a bouncer. But at the start of his run-up, he changed his mind and pitched it up, which came out well and he got rid of the batsman on the first ball itself. Siraj also said that he did not expect that Virat will give him the new ball.
The last time he bowled with the new ball was during his first stint with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017. Siraj said that the moment was a memorable one and provided him happiness. Son of an autorickshaw driver, Siraj has seen many ups and downs in his life. When he got a chance to play in Ranji Trophy five years ago, he proved to be the highest wicket taker by taking 14 wickets at the average of 18.92 on behalf of Hyderabad.
His career saw an upward swing when he was taken in Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 2.6 crore three years ago. Next year, he was taken in RCB. He proved his utility in limited over cricket, taking 23 wickets in seven matches of Vijay Hazare Trophy. Siraj got a chance to play in One Day against Australia in Adelaide but there he turned out to be an expensive bowler. He got an opportunity to play in T-20 against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. He took one wicket each time but he could not save runs.
The good thing is that Virat Kohli has great trust in him. Virat does not get perturbed even if he turns out to be an expensive bowler. Virat keeps inspiring him during the game. After winning the trust of captain, Siraj has also won the hearts of all by performing well with the ball against KKR. Let’s hope Siraj will soon be winning the trust of all in Team India also.