Mohammed Siraj Becomes No.1 ODI Bowler In ICC Rankings

Siraj picked nine wickets against Sri Lanka and became the leading wicket-taker for the three-game series and also scalped a four-wicket haul in the first match against New Zealand.

Mohammed Siraj in action.

Source : PTI

Indian speedster Mohammed Siraj became the number one bowler in the ODI format according to the ICC rankings on Wednesday. Siraj went past Trent Boult and Josh Hazlewood to get the top rank in the ODI bowlers list for the very first time. Siraj has been playing outstanding cricket in the white ball cricket for the last 12 months.

India bowling coach Paras Mhambrey helped Siraj to work on a few aspects and seems like it has paid off. Siraj picked nine wickets against Sri Lanka and became the leading wicket-taker for the three-game series and also scalped a four-wicket haul in the first match of the recently-concluded series against New Zealand.

India skipper Rohit Sharma lauded Siraj and said, "He has done really well, he understands what the team is expecting from him."

"To come and take the new ball, swing the ball, get early wickets. In the middle overs too, he's got so much skill. The more he plays, the better he gets," said the skipper.

Earlier, the Men in Blue outplayed New Zealand by 90 runs in the third and final game against New Zealand on Tuesday. Skipper Rohit Sharma amassed his first ODI century in three years while Shubman Gill also scored a terrific hundred and helped India put on 385 for nine in the first innings. The Indian team also became the No.1 ODI team after winning the third ODI.

After New Zealand captain Tom Latham won the toss, he opted to field first. Both the Indian batters built a huge 212-run opening stand as Rohit got 101 off 85 balls and Shubman scored his fourth ODI century (112 off 78) at Indore. Hardik Pandya also smashed a 38-ball 54 to power India to a huge total.

In reply to that, despite scoring a brilliant 138 runs, Devon Conway could not save New Zealand as they bundled out for 295 runs in the 42nd over. Shardul Thakur and Kuldeep Yadav starred with the ball for the Men in Blue as both picked three wickets each. Hardik Pandya, Umran Malik and Yuzvendra Chahal were also among the wickets for India. Rohit Sharma led team India whitewashed the Kiwis and sealed the series by 3-0.