Mohammed Siraj became a nightmare for the defending Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in the final on Sunday at the R Premadasa Stadium as he single-handedly wreaked havoc to fold the hosts for the lowest ever score in the history of the continental competition, regardless of whether the worry was about the rain, which caused an early delay, or spin dictating the proceedings.
Siraj caused so much havoc that, despite taking five wickets in only 16 balls on the way to his record-breaking six-fer, Sri Lanka was dismissed in just 15.2 overs.
After Sri Lanka decided to bowl first, Jasprit Bumrah made the breakthrough in the very first over of the game. After that, Siraj was the main focus.
The first Indian bowler to ever take four wickets in a single over, he started with a maiden over before taking four wickets in his second over, coming close to a hat-trick at one stage.
In his subsequent over, Siraj took five wickets in the space of just 16 balls, matching Sri Lankan icon Chaminda Vaas for the quickest bowling performance in ODI cricket. He then dismissed Kusal Mendis in the 12th over to complete his six-for.
The right-arm pacer eventually concluded with 6 for 21, the second-highest overall total after Ajantha Mendis’ 6 for 13 against India in Karachi in 2008. This was the best figure by an Indian bowler in an Asia Cup (ODI) match.
In addition, it surpasses Waqar Younis’ 6/26 in Sharjah in 1990 as the best statistics ever against Sri Lanka in an ODI match.
Siraj was removed from the attack, and Hardik Pandya took the final three victims to dismiss Sri Lanka for just 50 runs. It surpasses Bangladesh’s total of 87 against Pakistan in 2000 to become the lowest score for an ODI side in the Asia Cup.
They also scored 43 against South Africa in Paarl in 2012, which is their second-lowest score in an ODI game. In addition, the 50 broke India’s record of 54 against Sri Lanka in Sharjah in 2000 and the lowest ODI totals against India to become the lowest score ever by a team in an ODI final.
India triumphed by a surprising 10-wicket margin because to Siraj’s game-winning performance, giving them their first trophy haul in a multi-nation competition in five years (they last won the Asia Cup in 2018).
