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Mohammed Siraj had an evening to remember at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday (September 17) as India beat Sri Lanka by 10 wickets at the Asia Cup 2023 final to become champions of Asia for the eighth time. While the Men from the Island nation had won the toss and elected to bat first, Siraj wreaked havoc with the new ball in hand was bang on target with his line and lengths right from ball one. While his first over was a maiden one, the Hyderabad born pacer got rid of four opponent batters in his very next over to push Sri Lanka on the backfoot.
Siraj added two more wickets to his kitty and eventually finished with match figures of 6/21. Deservingly, the right-arm pacer won the Player of the Match award. However, the 29-year-old won hearts with his incredible gesture at the post match presentation. Siraj donated the $5,000 prize money he got to the groundstaff who worked tirelessly to ensure cricketing action throughout the tournament. The video of Siraj announcing the same has also surfaced on social media.
Take a look:
Siraj dedicates his Player Of The Match award and cash prize to the Sri Lankan groundstaff 🫡❤️#AsiaCupFinal pic.twitter.com/Aaqq6VMLkh
— Bhuvan (@bhuvanChari007) September 17, 2023
Talking about the match, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 50, their second lowest score in ODIs. Only two Sri Lankan batters scored in double figures while five of them departed without scoring. In the run-chase, India tried another opening pair with Ishan Kishan being sent in place of Rohit Sharma along with Shubman Gill. The duo ensured that there were no hiccups at all as they got to their target in 6.1 overs bringing a rather early end to the summit clash which wasn’t as competitive as cricket experts and pundits were hoping for.
India will now host Australia for a three-match ODI series starting on September 22 before heading into the ODI World Cup at home.
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