Mohammed Siraj showed that he can do more than just trouble batters with the ball. The Indian fast bowler produced a stunning batting finish against a Sri Lanka Cricket XI, smashing four sixes as India secured victory in their warm-up match.
India needed 207 runs in their final innings to win the game. With the final over of the third and last day approaching, India were 191/4, still 16 runs short of the target. Mohammed Siraj was at the crease with all-rounder Saransh Jain. Since this was a warm-up game, several of India’s top and middle-order batters had retired after facing only a few deliveries, allowing others to get valuable time in the middle.
Sri Lanka’s off-spinner WK Nuwantha bowled the first ball of the final over around middle stump. Siraj cleared his front foot and smashed the delivery over deep mid-wicket for a huge six. The next delivery was fuller and outside the off-stump. Siraj went after it again, hitting it straight down the ground for another maximum. He then completed a remarkable hat-trick of sixes off WK Nuwantha when another full and straight delivery was sent high into the air by the Hyderabad pacer.
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Mohammed Siraj had already shown his big-hitting ability in the previous over. He hit GS Dinusha for his first six of the innings after clearing his front foot and smashing the ball straight down the ground.
Although Siraj’s three consecutive sixes in the final over took India past the target on paper, the match did not immediately end. Warm-up games do not follow the same strict rules as official matches and both the teams agreed to continue playing.
Siraj added another boundary after an inside edge rolled towards deep fine leg. He then took a single, finishing his innings unbeaten on 32 off just 15 balls. Siraj has been working on his batting since making his way into the Indian team. He usually bats at No. 11 but his improvement with the bat means he can now provide useful support to a specialist batter at the other end during difficult situations.
His latest cameo also showed that he can attack spinners and score valuable runs late in the innings. That ability could become particularly useful for India in Sri Lanka.
India will now turn their attention to the first Test, which begins on August 15 in Galle.
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