The plan was to keep it simple – Mohammed Siraj

If there is one name that has been buzzing around like an incantation since Sunday afternoon, it is that of Mohammed Siraj, who was taking no prisoners at Colombo as he spat fire on an overcast day, blowing away the Sri Lankan batting unit to bits and pieces. The Indian quick raged through the top-order of the hosts following which there was no reprieve for Sri Lanka as they could barely keep themselves upright.

Running riot with the ball in his hands, Miyan clinched the important wickets of Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Charith Asalanka, Dhananjaya de Silva and Dasun Shanaka. Shattering the spine of the Lankan batting order, Mohammed Siraj was in absolute ecstasy at the end of the game as India demolished their counterparts to lift the continental crown, riding on the back of the pacer’s 6/21 performance.

Talking to Sanjay Manjrekar on Star Sports during the innings break, Siraj said, “Last time, against Sri Lanka, in Trivandrum [Thiruvananthapuram], I had taken the first four wickets [three of the first four], but couldn't get the fifth. Then I realised that you only get what is in your destiny, not more, however hard you try. So the plan was to keep it simple and execute my line and length, and I kept getting wickets."

He further said, “My only thing when I play white-ball cricket is that I would try to swing the new ball at the start. But here, there wasn't a lot of swing on offer in the initial matches. Today it swung, so I tried to make the batsman play as much as possible. It's nice when it catches the edge. I have not picked up a lot of wickets with my outswing - today I got a lot of wickets with my outswing, so that felt very good."

Siraj concluded by stating, “I was getting so much swing that I tried to make the batsmen drive, drag them forward and get their wickets. That was the plan. I didn't run after wickets, but the conditions did a lot of work for me. If you keep hitting the wickets with one line, you will keep getting wickets."