In Sunday’s Asia Cup 2023 final in Colombo, India defeated Sri Lanka by 10 wickets.
After a brief rain delay, the hosts won the toss and instructed India to bowl. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah struck in the first over, putting the opposition under immediate duress.
Four wickets were taken by Siraj in the fourth over of the innings, a significant contribution. Siraj dispatched Pathum Nissanka with a superb catch by Ravindra Jadeja, stationed at square, off the first delivery of the over.
In the subsequent delivery, Siraj bowled a full-length delivery that Sadeera Samarawickrama misjudged due to its abrupt movement. He opted for a review, which was unsuccessful, and he was ruled lbw.
Charith Asalanka, who had been the glory of the previous match against Pakistan, was dismissed by Siraj for his third wicket of the over. Siraj continued to torment the Sri Lankan batting order.
Siraj completed the over by claiming another wicket, closely missing a hat-trick. Dhananjaya da Silva attempted to draw but ended up giving wicketkeeper KL Rahul an easy catch.
In seven overs, Siraj took six wickets while conceding just 21 runs, which is the second-best figure in Asia Cup history.
With the bat, they had little difficulty as Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan raced down the total of 51 in 6.1 overs to help India win its record eighth Asia Cup.
Siraj stole the spotlight, but Jasprit Bumrah started the ball moving with a wicket in the first over and Hardik Pandya ended Sri Lanka’s batting early with three wickets in 14 balls.
Rohit praised the pacers’ great day, saying he was pleased.
“I get a lot of satisfaction when I see fast bowlers perform like this. All the captains take a lot of pride in fast bowling (at their disposal), and I am no different. We have got a fantastic set of fast bowlers,” he said.
“All of them have different skill sets and variations – one can bowl quick, one can swing the ball, one can get good bounce. When you get all of these aspects in one team, it is a feel-good factor.”
