How did Mohammed Siraj do on his return to Ranji Trophy?

In the seventh-round match between Hyderabad and Vidarbha, which took place at the VCA Civil Lines Ground in Nagpur, star pacer Mohammed Siraj made his Ranji Trophy comeback. Despite being the most successful bowler for India the previous season, Siraj was left out of the white-ball setup and decided to play domestically in order to maintain his rhythm and win the selectors’ approval so he could be considered again.

Hyderabad won the toss and decided to field first to begin the game. Siraj was bowling at full capacity on the first day of the match, totalling 18 overs, which was the most for Hyderabad in the first innings. Along with bowling seven maiden overs, the speedster conceded just 47 runs. In addition, Siraj gave up runs at a rate of just 2.61 per over, making him the most economical bowler in the first innings among those with at least 10 overs.

Even though Siraj didn’t take many wickets for the visiting team, he did get rid of Vidarbha’s top scorer in the first innings, Harsh Dubey. Before Siraj undid the southpaw, who was caught by Himateja K on the 46th ball he faced, Dubey was on song with 65 runs, including seven fours and four sixes. In the first innings, Vidarbha, who had already advanced to the knockout stages, were swept out for 190.

Hyderabad dominated with the bat in the second innings, primarily thanks to Tanmay Agarwal’s 136. Siraj, who was batting at number 10, was not given a chance to bat and was still in the game when Hyderabad lost their final wicket for 326 runs, after they had already taken a sizable lead.

Despite not taking many wickets in the first innings, Siraj came back stronger in the second to give his team three vital breakthroughs. First, he dismissed Danish Malewar in his very next over after taking out night-watchman Aditya Thakare in the 20th over. Vidarbha took advantage of the situation and established a solid alliance after he was freed from the spell.

But the instant the Hyderabad pacer returned to the attack, he claimed his third wicket of the innings by dismissing the highly effective Yash Rathod. However, despite the tight line and lengths, the home team’s batters made sure to deny Siraj any more wickets, so luck did not favour him any more. They gave the tourists a target of 213 runs to win the match after scoring a strong 355 runs in the second innings.

But it wasn’t meant to be as Dubey, who is also renowned for his deadly left-arm orthodox bowling, devastated the target defence with a six-wicket performance. When Siraj entered the batting position, he had nothing to lose and gave it his all, hitting 26 runs off just 14 balls, including three boundaries and a few maximums. However, it was insufficient, and Hyderabad was forced to return home after falling 58 runs short of the objective.

As we return to Ranji, let’s review Siraj’s performance.

Recalling the innings, Siraj bowled 38 overs, 11 of which were maidens, and claimed four vital wickets. Siraj was mostly used as a bowler for the squad, but he went above and beyond by scoring 26 runs in the second innings after going without a delivery in the first, solidifying his Ranji Trophy comeback.