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Mohammed Siraj has been the backbone of the RCB lineup so far and he bowled an outstanding spell of 4/21 against Punjab Kings on Thursday. That spell took his tally up to 12 wickets in six games and now holds the Purple Cap. The fast bowler has been economical too as he has an economy of 6.71 so far.
It has been an amazing turnaround for Siraj in T20 cricket and IPL as he was brutally trolled and criticized in the last season when he just picked nine wickets in 15 matches and leaked runs at the rate of 10.08 runs per over. Now he has surpassed his best record of 11 wickets in just six matches. The speedster is yet to cement his place in the limited format of the Indian team as he has not featured consistently in T20Is.
Siraj recalled the incident when he received the Purple cap for Bhuvneshwar Kumar in 2017 as he wasn’t available. Now Siraj is holding the purple cap and as he received the cap after the match against PBKS the Hyderabad-born pacer said "When Bhuvneshwar Kumar won the purple cap in the 2016 IPL, I went on his behalf to collect the Purple Cap. I also had a dream that I should also win a Purple Cap. So it is a very nice feeling to hold it currently,”
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He continued on his bowling against Punjab “First ball the length was a bit short and then I sensed the need to bowl full to get some swing and that was the plan (for the first wicket). The lockdown was really important for me because I used to get hit for boundaries very often before that. I worked on my plans, my fitness, and my bowling and it’s all paying dividends now. I always try to improve in every department of the game because I understand it is important to contribute in whichever way possible. Always rated myself as a decent fielder, misfields can happen but I take my fielding seriously.”
Royal Challengers Bangalore are currently fifth in the table with three wins in six games. Faf Du Plessis and his men will face Rajasthan on Sunday at home.