In absence of Jasprit Bumrah, young speedster Mohammed Siraj bowled a sensational spell, taking four wickets for just 32 runs, to annihilate a clueless Sri Lanka batting lineup and help India record a historic 317-run win in the third ODI to sweep the series 3-0 on Sunday. In the last one year, Siraj has emerged as India’s most successful bowler in 50-overs format and his remarkable form with the white ball augurs well for the Blues heading into the 2023 ODI World Cup. 

Post India’s record-breaking 317-run win over Sri Lanka in the the third and final ODI, senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma lauded Siraj for his bowling.

“(Mohammed) Shami has always been there for us but the way Siraj has come in and done with the new ball has been outstanding,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation, PTI reported.

“He has taken the maximum number of wickets in the powerplay, which was an issue for us early. He is always making the batters think, which is a great sign for us going into the World Cup.”

“Good to see how he (Siraj) was bowling and he deserved all those slips. He is a rare alent, the way he has come up over the last few years is good to see,” skipper Rohit said.

“He has come from strength to strength and that’s really good for Indian cricket.

“We tried all sort of things (to get his fifer) but it didn’t happen unfortunately. But the four wickets are all his and fifers will come. He has a few tricks up his sleeves which he is working on and it’s there to see.” India completed a 3-0 clean sweep of Sri Lanka in the ODI series.

“It was a great series for us. Lots of positives. We bowled well, got wickets when we needed and the batters throughout the series piling on the runs was good to watch.” India are scheduled to play three ODIs and as many T20Is with New Zealand, starting Wednesday.

“We’ll get to the drawing board quickly (for the next series) and see how the pitch is, then decide how the combinations will be.

“They (NZ) are coming off a series win in Pakistan, so it won’t be an easy task at all,” Rohit added.

(With PTI Inputs)