Asia Cup 2023 Final | Siraj says practised a lot to generate outswingers from wide of the crease

Siraj & Kuldeep's hard work paid off as their magical spells bamboozled Lanka in the Asia Cup Final. Siraj's 6/21 & Kuldeep's 9 wkts in 4 inns gave India the confidence to win the match & gain momentum for the World Cup.

Hours of net sessions perfecting the art of getting the ball to dart in the air and then deviate away after pitching paid dividends while bamboozling Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka, India's man of the moment Mohammed Siraj, said after his magical spell of 6/21 in the Asia Cup final.

Siraj dismissed Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samaraiwickrama, Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya De Silva in his second over before returning to clean up Lankan skipper Dasun Shanka with a peach of a delivery.

"I had practised a lot on generating out-swing deliveries from wide of the crease in West Indies. My outswingers were going well. So I tried from the wide of the crease to push for inswing [which will move away after pitching]," Siraj told bcci.tv.

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"So what I planned, what I had in mind, it turned out to be absolutely perfect and it was my best wicket of the game," Siraj said in an interaction with Indian teammate Kuldeep Yadav.

With less than a month to go for the World Cup, Siraj said his spell in the Asia Cup Final would give him a lot of confidence heading into the mega event.

Siraj spell shot out the Lankans for a mere 50 in 15.2 overs, aided by fellow pacers Hardik Pandya (3 for 3) and Jasprit Bumrah (1 for 23), while the Indians got the job done with 10 wickets in hand in 6.1 overs.