Left-arm Wrist Spinner Kuldeep Yadav was named Player of the Tournament owing to his consistent performance in all the games. Mohammad Siraj was named Player of the Match or Man of the Match after he wreaked havoc with his spell of 6 for 21.
“Practised a lot to generate outswingers from wide of the crease”
The fourth over, which Siraj bowled, will go down in the history of Indian cricket as one of the most lethal spells of fast bowling. He dismissed Pathum Nissanka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, and Dhananjaya de Silva in that over.
The ace bowler for Royal Challengers Bangalore was on a hat-trick, but De Silva pushed the ball for four by taking advantage of field position.
Reflecting on his dream performance on the final, the pacer said, “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’s magical performance has given the Indian fans a reason to be ecstatic before the World Cup. Siraj himself revealed that his performance in the Asia Cup Final gave him a lot of confidence before heading into the big event (World Cup).
He admitted, “It’s a great achievement for me, especially since it’s the final. It will help me gain a lot of confidence before the ODI World Cup.”
Kuldeep throws light on his story
Kuldeep concluded the tournament as the second-highest wicket-taker for India, taking nine wickets in four innings at an average of 11.44 and an economy of 3.61. His best performance came against arch-rivals Pakistan, where he scalped 5 for 25.
Owing to his consistent performance, he bagged the Man of the Tournament award.
The Indian spinner revealed that he has been working hard to gain his groove back. He also revealed that he has been making good use of his wrong one and flipper.
He explained, “I have worked a lot (on the wrong’un) in the last one and a half years. The rhythm is something that breaks off quite often and takes time to get it back.” Kuldeep’s form had gone on a downward spiral in 2019, and it has taken him nearly four years to get his rhythm back.
“I’m lucky to have gained that rhythm back. It did take some time and wasn’t easy, but now, it’s going smooth and aggressive, along with the pace; enjoying it a lot.” Siraj’s awe-inspiring spell did not allow Kuldeep to bowl in the final. However, the latter was pleased to have bowled efficiently in the three matches where he bowled.”
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