‘I thought I wouldn’t be able to play’ – Mohammed Siraj makes startling revelation after RCB’s annihilation of GT

Mohammad Siraj. (Source -IPL/BCCI)

Mohammed Siraj returned to form during the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) versus Gujarat Titans (GT) clash at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday, May 4. After the match, the right-arm pacer revealed how he defeated illness to step onto the field.

After Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to field first in front of a packed M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Siraj brought his A-game with the new ball and accounted for the wickets of openers Wriddhiman Saha and Shubman Gill.

Apart from picking up the two crucial wickets, Siraj kept things tight in his first spell and conceded just nine runs in two overs. The ace pacer, who had been in dismal form in the lead-up to the game, was adjudged Player of the match after finishing with figures of 2/29 in his four overs, helping RCB win their third consecutive game.

After the match, Siraj revealed that he had been ill for the past few days. He said that at the beginning of the day when he woke up, he felt he would have to miss the match. However, the Hyderabad-born showed immense grit and determination and produced a match-winning spell that garnered praise from fans as well as experts.

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“I was really ill for the last few days, thought I might not be able to play today but I really wanted to play so it was great that I was able to. Got the success today after practising a lot with the new ball this year. Reminded me of last year,” Siraj was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

“When I woke up in the morning, I thought I wouldn’t be able to play and that I should take rest. When I woke up, I manifested what I wanted to do and that’s exactly what happened. Not easy to switch between red and white ball cricket. You need to give your 110% every ball here,” he added.

Siraj’s performance will not only inspire him to do well in the remaining matches of RCB but also give India a huge relief as he is going to represent the Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup 2024 next month.

RCB stay in hunt for playoffs

RCB kept their hopes of a playoffs berth alive after registering their fourth win of the season from 11 matches. Faf du Plessis and Co. bowled the Titans out for a paltry score of 147, much to the delight of the thousands of RCB supporters in the stands. Alongside Siraj, Yash Dayal and Vijaykumar Vyshak bagged two wickets apiece in a disciplined bowling effort from the home side.

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In reply, du Plessis and Virat Kohli enthraled the crowd by adding 92 runs inside the first six overs. The former was dismissed after scoring a whirlwind 64 off 23 balls. Kohli also played well for his 42 off 27 balls, hitting two fours and four sixes. The RCB middle order could not contribute much but Dinesh Karthik and Swapnil Singh took them home with four wickets and 6.2 overs to spare.