Why Rohit Sharma Stopped Mohammed Siraj After 7 Overs In Asia Cup Final?

image-lmofun1nRohit Sharma alongside Mohammed Siraj (x.com)

The Men in Blue handed a humiliating defeat to Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final which ended very prematurely in a massively one-sided affair. Team India were all over Sri Lanka on Sunday as the hosts were blown away for a shocking score of just 50 thanks to some hostile piece of bowling from Siraj, Bumrah, and Pandya who accounted for all the 10 wickets.

The Indian skipper Rohit Sharma was particularly pumped to see such a belligerent exhibition of fast bowling for their start pacers just prior to the much-anticipated World Cup. Mohammed Siraj ended the match on a high bagging his best ODI bowling figures of 6/21 in only 7 overs. In addition, Siraj has become the fastest bowler to get to a 5-wicket haul in ODI cricket. He achieved this rare feat in the space of just 16 deliveries.

"I get a lot of satisfaction when I see fast bowlers perform like this. All the captains take a lot of pride in fast bowling, and I am no different. We have got a fantastic set of fast bowlers."

When asked to reflect on Siraj’s record-shattering bowling spell, Rohit admitted that it was a treat to observe him bowl from the slips. The 36-year-old added that he was able to extract more lateral movement compared to the other bowlers which got him immense success.

In the midst of his unbroken 7-over spell, Sharma received a word from his trainer advising him not to give Siraj another over. Besides, Rohit also did not intend to give him another over. This was done in an attempt to avoid burnout leading up to the all-important World Cup.

"He bowled seven overs in that spell, and I got a message from the trainer that we have to stop him now. He was quite desperate to bowl."


Rohit Sharma & Co. walk away with the Asia Cup trophy in emphatic style. As the World Cup draws closer, the fans would be hoping for team India to produce such groundbreaking performances on a more regular basis.