Teammates embrace India's bowler Mohammed Siraj after defeating West Indies by three runs in their first ODI cricket match at Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Friday, July 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)Mohammed Siraj is currently the man of the moment after defending 15 runs in the last over against a marauding Romario Shepherd who was on the verge of handing West Indies a victory against India in the 1st ODI match on Friday.
With 15 to defend, Siraj did not get the best of starts when his 3rd ball was hit for a boundary by Shepherd. He would then go on to leak some more runs in the next 2 balls, including a wide, that brought the deficit down to 5 runs from 1 ball. A six would have sealed it in the last ball for the hosts but a yorker from the Indian seamer helped the visitors snap up a 3-run victory.
After the match, a beaming Siraj would be interviewed by teammate Shreyas Iyer, who asked him what was going on inside his head during the last over.
From last-over heroics in the 1st #WIvIND ODI courtesy @mdsirajofficial to rocking some dance moves ft @ShreyasIyer15, presenting a fun interview that oozes swag 😎😎 – by @28anand
Full interview 👇https://t.co/tau2J3GcBh #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/4rou4918Zi
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 23, 2022
“I was backing my yorkers to come good in the last over and the ball was also reversing so I wanted to execute them as best as I could,” the seamer said.
Both players also talked about the raw emotion they felt during the last 2 balls of the innings when West Indies needed just 7 runs. “I was standing at deep midwicket and my heart was beating wildly but what were your thoughts,” Shreyas asked Siraj to which he replied, “My heart was also racing. I was representing my country and the last 4 balls I had bowled went well so I was backing myself. I was pretty confident and the end result was for everyone to see.”
The jovial duo also talked about Shreyas’ little dance near the boundary ropes, with Siraj asking what was going on there.
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“The crowd was on my back saying ‘drop a catch’ so when a catch came and I caught it, I just did a little dance for them,” Iyer said.
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