IPL 2025, RCB Vs GT: Happy Homecoming For Mohammed Siraj At Chinnaswamy Stadium As He Takes 3 Wickets

2025-04-03 02:00:52

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Mohammed Siraj taking wickets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore and doing the latest version of his trademark celebration had been a familiar sight. Nowadays, Siraj points both fingers at his chest and down at the ground, does a bit of a twirl with his hand, and the spins around while crossing his hands to bring them back down beside him. He's telling everyone that“I'm standing here”, while adding a bit of Cristiano Ronaldo.

The only thing was, this time Siraj was doing itagainst Royal Challengers Bangalore, and not for them. Siraj played for RCB with distinction from 2018 to 2024, but in the IPL 2025 mega auction, he was bought by Gujarat Titans for a hefty INR 12.25 crore. Every bit of that money would have seemed well-spent when watching him take 3 for 19 in four high-quality overs against his old franchise. In his first match back at his old home ground, Siraj walked away with the Player of the Match award, and consigned RCB to their first defeat of IPL 2025. It was a happy homecoming for Siraj, not so much for RCB.

Emotion and nerves

“I was a bit emotional because for seven years I've played here, in the red jersey,” Siraj said after the game, adding“Now with a different coloured jersey, there was a bit of nervousness and a bit of emotion too. But as soon as I had the ball in my hand, it was full-onjosh.”

Also Read | Points Table, IPL 2025: RCB slip to 3rd rank, GT stay at 4th position

The energy, passion and most importantly skill of Siraj was on show as he derailed RCB's powerplay with the wickets of Devdutt Padikkal and Phil Salt, and RCB found themselves in a hole. They dug their way out of it somewhat, with Liam Livingstone leading the way. But Siraj had the last laugh there too, snaring Livingstone in the 19th over to keep RCB to 169 for 8. The Titans chased that down easily, in 17.5 overs, but while the batters also performed superbly, the foundation was laid by Siraj.

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