IPL 2020: Mohammed Siraj Reveals His Plan Of Dismissing Nitish Rana As The Pacer Castled The Batsman For A Golden Duck

Mohammed Siraj was breathing fire against Kolkata Knight Riders on Wednesday as the pacer took a match-winning three-wicket haul and pegged back the Knight Riders in the powerplay. Siraj was duly adjudged the Man of the Match for his outstanding bowling with the new ball.

In his first over, Siraj picked wickets of Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana, and in his next over the pacer got rid of Tom Banton. Siraj became the first bowler in the history of IPL to bowl two maiden overs in a match. He ended up with figures of 4-2-8-3.

Mohammed Siraj had the ball on a string as he rocked the KKR batting order sealing the match for RCB inside the powerplay. Siraj got all three wickets with out-swinging deliveries and displayed high-class control over the ball.

I thought ‘no, let me pitch it up’: Mohammed Siraj

After the game, the pacer has revealed his plan of how he dismissed Nitish Rana for a golden duck. Rana came in to bat at the fall of Rahul Tripathi’s wicket. Siraj said that captain Virat Kohli asked him to bowl a short ball.

However, Siraj into his runup, decided to pitch it up, giving the ball a chance to swing and seam. The ball went through the bat-pad gap of the left-hander and hit the off-stump. Siraj also says he was initially surprised when Kohli asked him to bowl with the new ball.

In a video posted by iplt20.com, Mohammed Siraj told his teammate, Navdeep Saini, “I didn’t expect but Virat bhai gave me the ball. The last time I bowled with the new ball was during my first stint with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017. So I liked the fact that I got the chance to bowl with the new ball.”

“I enjoyed a lot today and was feeling very confident while bowling. Also, it felt good to bowl with the new ball. When Nitish Rana came into bat, Virat bhai plan was to bowl a bouncer. But I was at the start of my run-up, I thought ‘no, let me pitch it up’. I pitched it up, it came out well and I got the wicket,” the pacer added.

With an eight-wicket victory over KKR, Virat Kohli’s team has now jumped to the second spot leaping over Mumbai Indians. RCB will face the struggling Chennai Super Kings on Sunday, while KKR remains at the fourth spot and will go head to head with the Delhi Capitals on Saturday.

Also Read: Watch: Funny Virat Kohli Imitates Steve Smith’s Batting Stance