Happy Birthday Mohammed Siraj: Some stellar performances of India's young pace sensation

Mohammed Siraj is one of India’s fast-rising pace sensations and his journey into the cricket world has been nothing short of inspirational. Born on 13 March, 1994, in Hyderabad, the cricketer made his T20 debut in 2016.

The right-arm pacer caught eyeballs during the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) auctions when Sunrisers Hyderabad bought Siraj for Rs 2.6 crore from his base price of 20 lakh. A few months later Siraj made his international debut in November against New Zealand in Rajkot.

File image of Mohammed Siraj. AP

This sturdy and athletic cricketer bowled a quick bouncer during the Sunrisers Hyderabad set-up and impressed his captain David Warner and team mentor VVS Laxman. The fast bowler has made a mark in domestic cricket as well and was his state’s highest wicket-taker in his second Ranji Trophy season i.e. in 2016-17, where he took 41 wickets.

Siraj’s big break came in the 2021 Test against Australia where he led the bowling attack and picked 5 wickets in the second innings to play a crucial role in India’s historic win in Brisbane.

The pacer has played 12 Tests, 4 ODIs, 5 T20Is and 50 IPL matches in his short career so far. As the young bowing sensation turns 28 today, we take a look at some of his best performances:

India vs Australia, December 2020, 2nd Test in Melbourne

In the first innings, Siraj grabbed two important wickets, one of Marnus Labuschagne and another of Cameron Green.

The right-hander then took three wickets in the second innings, once again dismissing Cameron Green, Travis Head and Nathon Lyon and helping India win the match by 8 wickets.

Siraj displayed a brilliant performance in spite of having lost his father during the series and not being able to go back because of the COVID-19 regulations in place.

Kolkata Knight Riders vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, October 2020 IPL, Abu Dhabi

Siraj was acquired by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2020 and during the 39th IPL match, the frontline-pacer of RCB put in one of his fiercest performances. He got the edge of Rahul Tripathi only after he made a single run and Siraj then castled Nitish Rana for 0 and bowled a double-wicket maiden. Tom Banton was the next to be bowled by Siraj which reduced KKR to 17/4. Siraj became the first man to bowl two maidens in an IPL game and led by his fiery spell,  RCB restricted KKR to 84/8 from their 20 overs. They won the match by 8 wickets.

India vs Australia, January 2021, 4th Test at Brisbane

In the first innings, Siraj picked only one wicket as Australia posted 369. However Siraj’s stellar bowling in the second innings led India to a remarkable victory as the bowler took five wickets and finished with figures of 5/73 from 19.5 overs.

We wish this right-arm pacer a very joyous birthday and hope that he reaches great heights in his cricket career ahead.

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