ABU DHABI: Royal Challengers Bangalore’s pacemaker Mohammed Siraj, who surpassed Kolkata Knight Riders’ first place with a “magical performance,” said captain Virat Kohli’s surprising decision to hand him the new ball boosted his confidence in the match of the IPL.
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Siraj’s first three wickets came without conceding a run as he became the first bowler in IPL history to throw two maidens in a single game. RCB restricted KKR to a measly 84/8 and chased the target in 13.3 overs.
With Chris Morris swinging early on, Siraj was asked to throw the second envelope after an argument with goalkeeper AB de Villiers.

“We hadn’t planned for it to open, but when we came out Virat bhai said ‘Miyan, ready ho jao (Sir, get ready!), You will have to go bowling …’ That boosted my confidence,” Hyderabadi said. Pacer, who came back 4-2-8-3, said after winning eight wickets on Wednesday.
“Morris beat the batters (in the first over) and then Virat bhai talked to AB de Villiers (behind the stumps) and gave me the bowl,” he added.

“Initially, I didn’t think it would move that much after seeing the wicket. I just backed up my strength and really enjoyed myself.”
Brought in in the second round, Siraj hit on his third ball with a good-length ball that went away from Rahul Tripathi.
In his next installment, he cleared Nitish Rana, with a ball that cut sharply and broke the left-hander’s defense. On the next over, he represented Tom Banton with another swing delivery.

His bowling figures became the cheapest this season.
A natural swing bowler, Siraj has been practicing with the new ball and generating outswing in practice sessions.
“I’ve been a natural inswing bowler, but while I was practicing I started bowling much better.
“In our practice sessions, we have Devdutt Padikkal and Parthiv Patel. I shot the same pitch as the one I shot Nitish Rana. I did the same in the game and was able to execute it well,” he said.

Having endured a tough outing against the same side in 2019, it is now a story of going from zero to hero for Siraj.
Siraj was hammered for 36 runs in 2.2 overs before being pulled from the attack for throwing two projectors when KKR chased 206 with five balls to spare in their 2019 IPL match.
In the same game, Siraj had also left a babysitter for Chris Lynn and faced a lot of criticism.
Often sidelined in the presence of Chris Morris, Navdeep Saini and the effects duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, Siraj landed his fourth match on Wednesday when he was listed in place of Shahbaz Ahmed.
“I’ve always had a lot of support from the RCB setup. All I wanted to do this year was put on a magical performance. I wanted to do something different this year,” said Siraj, who played his fourth game of the season. .
“Whenever I thought about my performance at the IPL, I had decided that I would give a performance to remember. It is about doing something different, something magical,” he concluded.