Team India pacer Mohammed Siraj produced unforeseen batting heroics at the waning stages of the three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) XI at Colombo (NCC) on August 9. Chasing 207 for victory with 45 overs remaining on the third and final day, India reached 191/4 in 44 overs.
Thanks to several batters retiring out after a hit, Siraj was out in the middle with Saransh Jain. While the result was inconsequential in the bigger scheme of things, the former still made a sudden charge for victory.
The pacer smashed off-spinner Keshara Nuwantha for a hat-trick of sixes off the first three balls of the 45th and final over of the contest to seal the deal. Siraj smashed the first and third maximums toward the deep mid-wicket region, while pulling off a straight six in between.
Here is a video of Siraj’s final-over batting heroics with three incredible maximums:
Despite clinching the win, Siraj and India continued batting for the remaining three deliveries of the match. The 32-year-old struck another boundary off the penultimate ball before taking a single off the final delivery to finish unbeaten on 32 from 15 deliveries.
For the record, Siraj has struck only three maximums in his 113-match international career. However, he has smashed 23 sixes in his domestic career.
Mohammed Siraj had an up-and-down outing with the ball against SLC XI
Before the final flourish with the bat, Mohammed Siraj had a largely underwhelming outing in the warm-up match against SLC XI. The veteran pacer went wicketless in the first innings, conceding 44 runs off his 13 overs, as SLC XI finished on 363/8 declared.
Siraj also failed to contribute with the bat in India’s first innings, falling for an eight-ball one. However, he produced a better showing with the ball in the second innings, finishing with figures of 1/25 in eight overs.
With ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka due to injury, Siraj will lead India’s pace attack, thanks to his 46-match Test experience. Yet, the veteran has never played a red-ball international game in Sri Lanka, with the series opener in Galle, starting August 15, expected to be his first Test outing in the Island nation.
Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
