India makes it eight, in the Siraj-esque way

India players celebrate after winning the Asia Cup final in Colombo yesterday. Pic/AP, PTI

If he had that option, Mohammed Siraj would wrap September 17, 2023, in cotton wool and carry it with him for the rest of his life. The 29-year-old, who had had a quiet Asia Cup, burst into life when it mattered the most, annihilating Sri Lanka in the final at the R Premadasa Stadium on Sunday.

Second-lowest total for SL

This was supposed to be a 50-overs-a-side contest, but it devolved into a 50-run encounter for that was the anaemic total the hosts managed after Dasun Shanaka chose to bat. Siraj was primarily responsible for Sri Lanka capitulating to their second-lowest ODI total with a magical burst of six for 21, the figures doing complete justice to the fury with which the ball left his right hand.

Even Siraj, though, would have been pleasantly surprised at the rapidity with which the Sri Lankan batsmen showered gifts on him. True, there was liberal assistance by way of swing and movement off the surface, but by no means were the conditions treacherous. With greater application, the hosts could have made a game of it, but they collapsed like a pack of cards, blown away by the relentless hostility of the Hyderabadi and their own largesse that translated into a horrible sequence of atrocious shots.

Also Read: IND vs SL, Asia Cup final 2023: India crowned champions for record-extending eighth time

Bumrah gets early breakthrough

Jasprit Bumrah set the tone, as he often does, by dismissing Kusal Perera in the first over, then watched from a distance as Siraj got into the act. In his second over, he evicted Pathum Nissanka, whom he had beaten four times in his first over, and then followed it up with the scalps of Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva. In the process, he became only the fourth bowler after Mohammed Sami, Adil Rashid and Chaminda Vaas to take four wickets in an over in the last 20 years.

In his next over, Siraj collected Shanaka's scalp with a beauty that shaped into the right-hander, then straightened on hitting the deck to pluck out off-pole. The 16 deliveries he had taken for his maiden five-wicket haul equalled Vaas's record for the fewest balls to a five-for. Even if he had so desired, Rohit Sharma could not have prised the ball out of his hands.

Siraj showed sustained hostility and great heart, even running all the way from his followthrough to long-on to try and prevent a boundary, his commitment in sharp contrast to the lackadaisical approach of the home batsmen. The capacity crowd had little to cheer though to their credit, they didn't turn on their team and even found the heart to applaud Siraj uninhibitedly. Not a fan left the stadium until India had blazed to victory through Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, promoted to open. The duo got the job done in just 6.1 overs to power India to their eighth Asia Cup title, the 10-wicket margin with 263 deliveries to spare apt reflection of the brand of cricket the two sides portrayed in
the final.

Brief scores
Sri Lanka 50 all out in 15.2 overs (K Mendis 17; M Siraj 6-21, H Pandya 3-3) lost to India 51-0 in 6.1 overs (S Gill 27', I Kishan 23') by 10 wickets

50
Sr Lanka's total on Sunday - the lowest in any ODI final

263
This is India's biggest ODI win in terms of number of balls to spare