Mohammed Siraj (far right) celebrates after taking a wicket in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Mohammed Siraj left stunned Kolkata Knight Riders stunned on Wednesday when the pacer took three wickets inside his first two overs for Royal Challengers Bangalore to leave KKR reeling at 14/4 in match 39 of IPL 2020 in Abu Dhabi.
His inclusion in the playing XI instead of Shahbaz Khan turned out to be a masterstroke by skipper Virat Kohli as the pacer registered his name in the history book by giving away no runs in the first two overs; making him the first and only bowler to bowl to maiden overs in the IPL.
Siraj's fiery spell started from the word go of the match after KKR skipper Eoin Morgan decided to bat first after winning the toss. Bowling third ball of match's second over, Siraj first got Rahul Tripathi caught behind for mere 1 run and quickly followed this up by rattling the stumps of Nitish Rana for a golden duck in the next delivery.
Newly-in Tom Banton saw out the next two deliveries to finish the over but couldn't escape Siraj's blitzkrieg in the next over. The Australian was caught behind at the third ball off Siraj's next over as the pacer kept balling in the classic Test match good length bowling areas on a pitch with freshness in it to reap benefits.
The first runs to Siraj's bowling figure only came in the sixth over when Dinesh Karthik and Eoin Morgan took singles in his third over.
