Watch: The 2023 Asia Cup final was dominated by Mohammed Siraj, and even when he wasn’t taking wickets, he was still the centre of the action.
India had got off to the perfect start, with Jasprit Bumrah taking a wicket with his third ball and Siraj taking three in four to start his second over, putting himself on a hat-trick. He didn’t take a third in three balls, and in fact had work to do, with the number of close-in fielders leaving the area in front of the wicket vacant.
Dhanajaya de Silva pushed the delivery into the leg-side, and Siraj tore after the ball in pursuit. He chased it down all the way to the boundary, sprinting with a smile on his face, but lost the race as Sri Lanka added four runs to their total.
Virat Kohli, standing in the slips, struggled to contain his laughter at the antics of the energetic quick.
Siraj was back at it one ball later, nicking off de Silva to complete a four-wicket over. He struck again in his following over, removing Dasun Shanaka to complete a five-for in 16 balls, equalling Chaminda Vaas’ world record for the fastest ODI five-wicket haul. That boundary marked the only runs Siraj had conceded up to that point.
He finished with six wickets as Sri Lanka were bundled out for 50, with India completing victory in quick time to win the Asia Cup.
