Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj had a memorable outing in the recently-concluded third and final T20I against New Zealand at Mclean Park in Napier on Tuesday. While the match had no result, as the rain forced the teams to settle for a draw, Siraj’s pinpoint bowling impressed everyone.
The right-arm pacer shined with the ball, picking up a brilliant four-wicket haul, helping the visitors pack the hosts for 160 in 19.4 overs. Siraj dismissed the likes of Mark Chapman (12), Glenn Phillips (54), James Neesham (0), and Mitchell Santner (1) to complete his four wickets while conceding only 17 runs in his quota of 4 overs.
Apart from bowling, Siraj also had a remarkable day on the field, as he affected a sensational run-out to dismiss Adam Milne. It all happened during the 19th over of the Black Caps’ innings bowled by Arshdeep Singh, who was on a hat-trick. Arshdeep delivered a brilliant yorker to New Zealand’s stand-in skipper Tim Southee, who played it towards the short point.
Milne ran quickly from the non-strikers’ end for a quick single but was sent back by Southee. Milne then slipped while turning, and that gave Siraj a little more time to take aim. The Indian pacer picked up the ball quickly and threw it at the non-striker’s end for a perfect direct hit which found Milne just short of his crease.
Here is the video:
this is a Mohammed Siraj appreciation tweet 🫶
Keep watching the 3rd #NZvIND T20I, LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on https://t.co/Alcf9enTYg.#NZvINDonPrime #CricketOnPrime pic.twitter.com/M1XJSAeVsj
— prime video IN (@PrimeVideoIN) November 22, 2022
After the match, Siraj revealed that the track wasn’t easy to bowl, and he was ready to bowl hard lengths, which eventually helped him a lot. The Hyderabad pacer mentioned how he was preparing for the same when he was part of the Indian squad in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
“The wicket wasn’t easy to bat, and I was prepared to deliver hard lengths, which gave me the rewards. I prepared myself to bowl hard lengths and had so much practice during World Cup, and I just executed my plans. I always keep it simple. Just bowl the hard lengths. The weather is not in our hands, happy with the series win,” said Siraj at the post-match presentation.
