Indian bowlers continued their excellent form with the ball in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 by rolling over the Sri Lankan top order at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Jasprit Bumrah hit the jackpot with a strike in the first delivery of the second innings, trapping Patthum Nissanka in front of the stumps.
Mohammed Siraj, whose form has been up for debate lately, caught Lankan opener Dimuth Karunaratne off guard on the first delivery of his spell.
Sameera Samarickwarma, who has been Sri Lanka’s highest run-scorer in this tournament, couldn’t weather the storm unleashed by Siraj either as he ended up handing a catch to Shreyas Iyer who had notched a half-century in the first innings.
Siraj silenced his critics by returning for his second over and knocking over Lankan skipper Kusal Perera, effectively reducing them to 3/4 at the start of the fourth over.
Sri Lanka seems to bring out the best of Siraj, with the pacer having picked up an excellent six-wicket haul to bowl them out for 50 in the Asia Cup final in Colombo in September.
He had bowled a similarly extraordinary spell against them in Kochi earlier this year, and they were perhaps the ideal opponent for the out-of-form speedster to recover his rhythm.
First Published: Nov 2, 2023 7:19 PM IST
