Siraj dismissed Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva in an over from hell
ESPNcricinfo Staff Sep 17, 2023 • 1 hour ago
Mohammed Siraj was unplayable under cloudy skies at the R Premadasa Stadium
Three overs into the Asia Cup final, Sri Lanka already found itself in a difficult situation, 8 for 1 against a newbie Indian pair who were moving the ball surprisingly well in overcast skies. By the end of the fourth over they were dazed and unsure what had hit them after Mohammed Siraj became only the fourth bowler (in games where ball-by-ball records are available) to take four wickets in an over ODIs. Here’s how Hemant Brar captured it in our ball-by-ball commentary.
Siraj continues with three slips
3.1 Siraj vs Nissanka, AUS
A stunner from Jadeja. A long ball from Siraj, just outside the offside. Nissanka pressed it and opened the face of the bat at the point of contact, meaning the ball became squarer. Jadeja jumped to his right and stuck it in the deep with both hands
Sadeera Samarawickrama ranked 4th
3.2 Siraj to Samarawickrama, no run
Longer ball in the channel, going away. Left alone
3.3 Siraj to Samarawickrama, AUS
An appeal for lbw and the referee barely took time to raise his finger. However, Sadeera wants to check it out. It was a long ball that landed just outside the ball, hit the inside edge and hit the batsman around the crook of his knee on the front pad. Ball tracking shows that the ball would then have hit the top of the leg stump. Sri Lanka is in big trouble
Charith Asalanka is the new batsman – currently one of the best No. 5s. Two slips for him
3.4 Siraj to Asalanka, AUS
Siraj scores a hat-trick! He now has three out of four balls! It went all the way around and Asalanka just pushed on it – think with little footwork she couldn’t keep it under control. It went straight to cover where Kishan took it with the cups inverted to his face
Dhananjaya de Silva has to face the hat-trick ball. Four slips
3.5 Siraj to Dhananjaya, FOUR runs
Longer ball onto the stumps and de Silva simply pushes it through the empty middle area. Siraj, full of adrenaline, gives chase alongside Kishan, beats Kishan but fails to stop the boundary. Meanwhile, Kohli can’t stop laughing while slipping
3.6 Siraj to Dhananjaya, OUT
Fourth wicket for Siraj in the over – Sri Lanka 12 for 5! It was in the canal, slightly fuller than the correct length, with the seam pointing toward the deep third. Dhananjaya pushes it away from the body. The ball moves away to hit a weak outside edge and Rahul completes a regulation catch
Siraj was far from finished. He bowled Dasun Shanaka, the Sri Lanka captain, with an unplayable outswinger on the fourth ball of his next over, by which time he had secured a five-wicket haul having dealt just 16 balls. No one has scored a faster fiver in ODIs where a ball-by-ball record is available.