Mohammed Siraj’s GOAT performance restricts KKR to 84/8
Fast bowler Mohammed Siraj has been the butt of jokes for the previous few editions of the IPL. The biggest reason is his economy in the tournament which is above 9, which is termed too much for a frontline fast bowler, who actually bowls decently fast.
Siraj, son of an auto-rickshaw driver, has a very heartwarming story given that Sunrisers Hyderabad bought him for INR 2.60 cr in IPL 2017 auction and he picked 10 wickets from 6 games. From there, he moved to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and picked 18 wickets in two editions of IPL prior to IPL 13.
But his economy and tendency to go for runs in death overs always gave fodder to social media trolls to make fun of him.
IPL 2020: Twitterati applaud and tip their hat to Mohammed Siraj after his 3/8 v KKR
However, the tide turned in Siraj’s favor when RCB battled Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 39th match of the IPL 2020 in Abu Dhabi. Eoin Morgan, KKR captain won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision Mohammed Siraj made him regret later on.
Siraj blew away KKR top order with figures of 3/8 in four overs. He removed Rahul Tripathi, Tom Banton, and Nitish Rana in a fiery spell, giving the edge to RCB early on. He also became the first bowler ever to bowl two maidens in a single match of IPL and helped RCB restrict KKR to 84/8, their lowest ever score, and won the match by 8 wickets.
Siraj was named the Man of the Match for his performance and it was his redemption from his below-average performances in previous years and shut down the trolls effectively as well.
