Asia Cup final: Mohammad Siraj bowls dream spell

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

The only bright spot for Sri Lankans on the day of the final of the Asia Cup was the announcement from the Asian Cricket Council that the hardworking ground staff and curators at Pallekele and Colombo would receive a bonus of $50,000. That was the best spent Rs 42 lakh in a tournament that ended in an onfield damp squib.

Mohammad Siraj was simply irresistible, hitting the exact lines and lengths in an early spell that ripped out the heart of the Sri Lankan batting. Jasprit Bumrah opened the door, winkling out a wicket in the first over, but it was Siraj who put in a barnstorming performance.

The signs were there in his first over, when he worked over Kusal Mendis, beating the bat with four consecutive deliveries without drawing the edge.

Even as Mendis lived dangerously, Pathum Nissanka paid the price,opening the face of the bat while playing towards off for Ravindra Jadeja to come in and take a sharp catch low and to his right.

India trounces Sri Lanka to clinch Asia Cup 2023; Siraj dazzles with six-wicket haul

Two balls later, Siraj got one to come back into Sadeera Samarawickrama, beat the inside edge and nailed the batsman in front of the stumps. Even the review could not save Samarawickrama after the umpire's finger had gone up in a flash. Charith Asalanka played a poor shot first up, popping the ball to short extra cover, making it three wickets in four balls for Siraj. The hat-trick ball provided full entertainment. India had loaded the slip cordon and put fielders in catching positions close to the bat, only Dhananjaya de Silva to on drive into the vacant mid-on region.

With no fielders in the vicinity, it was Siraj who gave chase, going full tilt all the way to the boundary, only to be beaten