Mohammed Siraj wins ‘Fielder of the Match’ medal

Siraj didn't need to bowl his full four-over quota as Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah tore through Ireland's batting lineup. Hardik claimed three wickets, while Bumrah took two in his three overs.

New York: India’s star pacer Mohammed Siraj was crowned with the ‘Fielder of the Match’ medal after Men in Blue hammered Ireland by eight wickets to start their ICC T20 World Cup campaign at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

Siraj was not required to bowl his whole four-over quota as Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah shredded Ireland’s batting order. While Hardik took three wickets, Bumrah took two during his three-over performance.

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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday took to X to announce the winner in a video. In the video, the young Indian fan was seen meeting with the Men in Blue players and he went on to award the ‘Fielder of the Match’ medal to Siraj, who accepted it with a warm hug with the supporter in an adorable fashion.

Siraj was magical with the ball as the 30-year-old pacer went on to bag one wicket in three overs, conceding 13 runs. The pacer also ended well-set batter Gareth Delany’s stay at the crease with his excellent fielding efforts in the 16th over of the game.

“In T20 cricket one of the key factors is game awareness as every ball is an opportunity. A great example of today was Axar Patels’ caught and bowled and Virat Kohli’s intensity backing up showing what we spoke in the morning,” India fielding coach T Dilip said in a video posted by BCCI.

The young fan said he want to meet star pacer Arshdeep Singh as the speedster is best.

Coming to the match, riding on the back of fine performances from Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah, India registered an 8-wicket victory against Ireland.

Opted to field first, Indian bowlers put pressure on Irish batters from the start and had them struggling at 50/8 but fightback from Gerath Delany (26 in 14 balls) and Joshua Little (14 in 13 balls) helped Ireland push the total to 96 in 16 overs.

During the run-chase of 97 runs, a half-century from skipper Rohit Sharma (52 in 37 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes) and a supportive knock by Rishabh Pant (36* in 26 balls, with three fours and two sixes) helped India secure an eight-wicket win.