India beat Sri Lanka by ten wickets in the Asia Cup 2023 finals to win the tournament for a record 8th time. The Island Nation, batting first, put just 50 runs on the board, the lowest total in Asia Cup history.
Mohammed Siraj was the star performer as the 29-year-old took a six-wicket haul and broke a plethora of records. Notably, Siraj took four wickets in an over and took the game away from the Dasun Shanaka-led side in his first spell. With a figures of 6/21 in 7 overs, Siraj ended the tournament with ten wickets.
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Siraj’s heroics earned him a player of the match award. Speaking with Ravi Shastri, Siraj admitted that it was his best spell in his white-ball career.
Further, the 29-year-old won fans’ hearts as he dedicated his 3,000 USD prize money to the Sri Lankan groundsmen, who worked tirelessly over the last two weeks as most of the match were marred with rain.
Before Siraj, ACC president Jay Shah had also announced a prize money of USD 50,000. “Big Shoutout to the Unsung Heroes of Cricket! The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) are proud to announce a well-deserved prize money of USD 50,000 for the dedicated curators and groundsmen at Colombo and Kandy,” tweeted Shah.
The fans hailed Siraj and ACC’s gesture towards the groundstaff in Sri Lanka.