Rohit reveals the reason why Siraj bowled only seven overs in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka says it was the trainer’s message that made him stop Siraj from bowling
When India took on Sri Lana in the final of the Asia Cup nobody in their wildest dream would have thought that the defending champions would be bowled out for just 50. But as they say, cricket is unpredictable and it proved right on Sunday as Mohamed Siraj wreaked havoc among the Sri Lankan batters by taking four wickets in an over and six in total.
He also equaled Chaminda Vaas’ record of the quickest bowler to take five wickets in a match in terms of balls bowled. The fast bowler completed his five-wicket haul in just 16 balls reducing Sri Lanka to 12-6 inside the powerplay.
A New Record
The entire final lasted for only 21 overs with India registering its biggest win in ODI history in terms of balls remaining surpassing their previous best against Kenya in 2001. Indian captain Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Player of the Match Siraj. He said “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,” Rohit said at the post-match media conference.
“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,” added Rohit.
The Right Decision
One of the highly debated topics after the match was why Rohit Sharma didn’t give Siraj another over after the fast bowler was in good rhythm. The captain clarified that it was the trainer’s decision to not let Siraj bowl another over.
In the words of Rohit, “It was very pleasing to watch from the slips (how Siraj bowled). He got the ball to move a bit more than the other two. We were riding behind him (Siraj) when he was bowling that spell.” “He bowled seven overs in that spell, and I got a message from the trainer that we have to stop him now. He was quite desperate to bowl,” said Rohit with a chuckle.
