Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) pacer Mohammad Siraj, who on Wednesday became the first bowler in the history of the Indian Premier League to bowl two maidens in a single innings, said that he wanted to bowl a magical spell for his team.
Siraj possibly had the best game of his life against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Wednesday with the dream figures of 3/8, including two back-to-back maidens where he took all the three wickets.
“Everyone in the RCB supports me a lot, even the fans. So, I wanted to deliver a magical performance for the team and it was a magical performance,” Siraj said during the post-match press conference.
Before the game, Siraj had an economy rate of 9.29 – the worst among 92 bowlers with at least 100 overs to their name.
However, in Abu Dhabi, skipper Virat Kohli gave him the new ball. “I have been practising a lot with the new ball,” Siraj said at the presentation. “We hadn’t planned that I will open but when we went out, Virat bhai said Miyan, ready ho jao. (Sir, get ready.).”
“Virat (Kohli) bhai’s plan was for me to bowl a bouncer,” Siraj said during a chat with teammate Navdeep Saini for iplt20.com later. “But when I was at the start of my run-up, I thought ‘no let me pitch it up’. I pitched it up, and it came out well and I got a wicket,” he added.
Siraj has so far taken six wickets in four matches this season and RCB would be hoping he continues to bowl in the same way in the upcoming matches like he did against KKR.
His efforts helped the Virat Kohli-led team in restricting KKR to an embarrassing total of 84/8, the lowest ever in the Indian Premier League (IPL) after batting 20 overs. RCB reached the total with eight wickets and more than six overs to spare.
Meanwhile, the contest between RCB and KKR, one of the most sought-after rivalries in IPL, was a completely one-sided affair on Wednesday, thanks to the Bangalore bowlers.
The win took the RCB to the second spot on the points table, and showed that they have emerged as a serious title contender. Although they are equal on points with Delhi Capitals (+0.774), they are second only on the net run rate (+0.182). Both teams have played 10 matches each.