Start of the fourth over, Mohammed Siraj, on top of his bowling mark asked the fielder in the ring on off-side to move into third slip position. The 29-year-old went wide of the crease, angled one into Kusal Mendis and the ball did enough after pitching to crash into the stumps. The right-hander was out for just 1, Siraj had his third wicket in lightning quick time and broke into a wild CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo) celebration. Last Siraj was this animated was back in the Asia Cup final against the same opposition more than a month ago in Colombo.
Since that six-wicket haul, Siraj had picked only seven wickets in his next seven outings for India and the spring in his stride had suddenly gone missing. He lacked control with the new ball, was struggling to find the right lengths and lacked the ideal rhythm. The rhythm which was on display in Colombo and at the Wankhede today.
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Siraj himself admitted after the game against New Zealand that he wasn’t finding the right lengths before that game and it was that afternoon in Dharamsala where he showed signs of returning to old days during the spell of 1/45.
“I wasn’t getting the right rhythm in the last 3-4 matches. I was trying to get that rhythm but wasn’t able to get that. Finally, I got that today (game vs New Zealand). I was consistently hitting the length I wanted to hit. I am very happy because there wasn’t much swing in the wicket, it was more of a seam-friendly wicket. But the way I was hitting the seam it was working. I kept belief in that, managed to pick a wicket and create pressure too,” Siraj had said at ICC mixed-zone post New Zealand game.
The return of in-your-face Siraj
Wickets in the kitty, Siraj switched on the “in-your-face” mode too and didn’t shy away from giving an earful to Charith Asalanka on multiple occasions in the eighth over of the chase. Every time he would dig one in short or beat the left-hander with movement, Siraj would extend the follow through and go right up to the batter.
It was September 17 all over again and Rohit Sharma would have taken a sigh of relief after ticking another important checkbox before the knockouts.
A bowling masterclass
Not just Siraj, it was another fast-bowling masterclass featuring Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami too. Ever since Hardik Pandya’s injury has forced India to go in with three specialist fast bowlers, India’s bowling has looked very menacing. From the game against New Zealand in Dharamsala to England in Lucknow and now Sri Lanka in Mumbai, there has been no respite for the batters. As the saying goes, if Bumrah doesn’t get you, Siraj will, if you survive both there is Shami waiting.
That’s exactly what happened at the Wankhede too. Siraj picked three, Bumrah picked one and it took Shami just three deliveries to take his 2023 World Cup wickets tally into double digits. A wicket set-up by Siraj was picked up by Shami as an under the pump Asalanka went for a booming drive and found Ravindra Jadeja at backward-point. Dushan Hemantha wasted very little time and didn’t disturb the scorers as he departed first ball to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 14/6, putting their previous worst of 50 all out against the same opposition in danger.
While Siraj and Shami were amongst the wickets, Bumrah continued to stamp authority in the powerplays. He has picked 10 wickets in the World Cup during that period and has kept the economy rate under three in the 65 overs he has sent down. Even when the wickets don’t come his way, the pressure he creates from one end allows the likes of Siraj and Shami to keep striking and a similar script beautifully played out today.
After the Siraj burst, it was Shami’s turn to add a few more wickets to his tally as he removed Chameera, cleaned up Angelo Mathews, sent Kasun Rajitha back to complete a five-wicket haul and become India’s most successful bowler in ODI World Cup.
Over to Kolkata for the mouth-watering top-of-the-table clash between India and South Africa.
Brief Scores: India 357/8 (Shubman Gill 92, Virat Kohli 88, Shreyas Iyer 82; Dilshan Madhushanka 5/80) defeated Sri Lanka 55-all out (Maheesh Theekshana 12*; Mohammed Shami 5/18, Mohammed Siraj 3/16)
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