Mohammed Siraj’s 3 best ODI spells vs Sri Lanka

Team India will clash against Sri Lanka in the first game of the three-match ODI series on Friday, August 2, at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. This will be Men in Blue’s first ODI series in 2024.

Team India will be highly confident after whitewashing Sri Lanka in the three-game T20I series under new skipper Suryakumar Yadav. For ODIs, Rohit Sharma is back in charge and will be seen in action for the first time since guiding India to the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados.

Along with Rohit, Virat Kohli returns to action for the first time since the T20 World Cup. Both the veterans have bid farewell to T20I cricket and will be looking to bring glory in ODI and Test formats, with the ICC Champions Trophy and World Test Championship final scheduled for 2025.

In this series, India will look to test their bowling department in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

Mohammed Siraj will be leading the pace attack, which includes Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Khaleel Ahmed. Siraj has an impressive record against Sri Lanka, taking 19 wickets in six games. On that note, we will look at Mohammed Siraj’s three best ODI spells vs Sri Lanka.

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Mohammed Siraj’s 3 best ODI spells against Sri Lanka

#3 16/3 in the 2023 ODI World Cup

Men in Blue faced Sri Lanka in the 33rd game of the 2023 ODI World Cup at Wankhede Stadium. Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl first. Dilshan Madushanka provided a great start for Sri Lanka, dismissing Indian captain Rohit Sharma on the second ball.

After that, it was all about Indian batters. Shubman Gill (92), Virat Kohli (88), and Shreyas Iyer (82) scored brilliant half-centuries as Men in Blue posted 357 runs on the board.

In response, Sri Lanka had a terrible start as they lost Patham Nissanka on the very first ball, courtesy of Jasprit Bumrah. Mohammed Siraj also struck on his first delivery; he got rid of Dimuth Karunaratne. Indian bowlers were all over the Lankans, as they got bowled out on 55, losing the match by 302 runs.

Mohammed Siraj bowled seven overs, conceded 16 runs, and took three runs. Mohammed Shami was expectational, taking five wickets in five overs.

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#2 32/4 at Greenfield Stadium in Kerala

India faced Sri Lanka in the final game of a three-match series at Greenfield Stadium in Kerala in January 2023. The Men in Blue won the toss and chose to bat first. Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli were at their absolute best in this match.

Gill struck 116 runs off 97 balls, while Kohli remained unbeaten on 166 off 110 balls, smashing 13 fours and eight maximums as India finished 390/5 in their allotted 50 overs.

In response, Sri Lanka never looked in the game as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Nuwanidu Fernando (19) was the leading scorer as Sri Lanka got bowled out on 73 runs. Mohammed Siraj took four wickets for India as the Men in Blue won the game by 317 runs, clinching the series 3-0.

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#1 21/6 in the 2023 Asia Cup final

Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first in the final of the 2023 Asia Cup played at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. No one would have imagined what was coming next; Sri Lanka got bowled out on 50 runs in 15.2 overs.

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj was all over the Sri Lankan batters. The right-arm pacer bowled seven overs, conceded 21 runs, and took six wickets. Hardik Pandya also bagged three as Men in Blue made the game one-sided.

In response, India won the game by 10 wickets with 263 balls to spare. This was India’s biggest win in terms of balls remaining, with Siraj playing a major role in this feat.