India vs Sri Lanka 3rd ODI: Mohammed Siraj was SPURRED on by IPL 2022 disappointment, here’s how

Mohammed Siraj, who was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the IPL 2022 season, picked up only nine wickets in 15 matches with an economy of more than 10 runs per over.

Photo: PTI

Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers in the India vs Sri Lanka three-match ODI series, finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the series with 9 wickets in 3 games at an incredible average of just 10.22. Siraj capped off a brilliant ODI series with figures of 4/32 in 10 overs in the third ODI at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday (January 15) as the Lankans succumbed to a record 317-run ODI defeat to lose the series 3-0.

Siraj, who was retained by Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) ahead of the IPL 2022 season, picked up only nine wickets in 15 matches with an economy of more than 10 runs per over. The young pacer said the transformation has come about because he started focussing on the execution of line and length in white-ball cricket following the IPL 2022 disappointment.

“When the IPL season went bad for me, I started focussing on white-ball cricket. I worked on it and grew in confidence. I stopped worrying about how my performance would go which was not the case earlier. I started focussing only on execution of line and length,” Siraj said at the post-match press conference.

A good day on the field and it was wonderful to watch @ShubmanGill & @imVkohli bhai bat today. Congratulations on your 100s and thanks to the almighty for giving me this opportunity to contribute in team's biggest win. Shukar ___ @BCCI pic.twitter.com/ZDAVMRL250 — Mohammed Siraj (@mdsirajofficial) January 15, 2023

Siraj also said the beauty of bowling with a wobbled seam lies in its unpredictability. So much so that he even doesn’t know how much the ball will do after pitching. Siraj has been reaping the benefits of bowling with a wobbled seam since he discovered the art in 2018.

He picked up nine wickets in the ODI series against Sri Lanka, providing India the much needed wickets with the new ball. “With wobbled seam, how much the ball will do neither I know nor the batter. Sometimes it goes straight after pitching other times it can come in sharply. Most of my wickets come through wobbled seam. It is effective for me and I trust it to work for me,” said Siraj after the third ODI.

The skilful pacer said he used the wobbled seam after his natural inswinger deserted him. “Inswing was my natural earlier but then it stopped so I also developed outswing. When I did not have the inswing, I developed the wobbled seam. It took a lot of time to get effective and give me confidence. The more I bowled in the nets, the better I got. In the IPL, I spoke to Dale Steyn as well for outswing which helped me a lot.”

Talking about the Sri Lanka series, he said his plan was simple. “The plan was to take early wickets and put pressure on the opposition.”

Siraj is now looking forward to playing at his home ground on January 18 when India take on New Zealand in the first ODI. “It would be nice to play at the home ground with my family, coaches and friends watching me,” he added.

(with PTI inputs)