Mohammed Siraj credits saliva ban reversal for aiding bowlers, after dismantling Sunrisers Hyderabad with a fiery four-wicket haul on home turf
Hyderabad, April 7: Mohammed Siraj delivered a devastating spell on home soil, bagging a career-best 4/17 to help Gujarat Titans (GT) throttle Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) by 7 wickets in their IPL 2025 clash. The pacer also hailed the revocation of the saliva ban, saying the rule change has made leg-before and bowled dismissals more achievable for fast bowlers.
Siraj was unplayable on a slow Hyderabad pitch, claiming key wickets including Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma, Aniket Verma, and Simarjeet Singh, while also marking a major personal milestone—crossing 100 IPL wickets.
“100 per cent I am enjoying it. With the return of saliva, the ball tails a bit — which means wickets. Without it, the ball just comes on nicely to the bat,” Siraj said after the match. “It’s a big advantage for bowlers like me, especially on slow tracks.”
Siraj, now with 102 wickets in 97 IPL games, boasts a career average of 28.88 and an economy of 8.60. This season, however, he’s stepped up another gear — 9 wickets in 4 matches at an economy under 7.8, making him the joint second-highest wicket-taker so far in IPL 2025.
🔹 Match Recap:
Batting first, Sunrisers Hyderabad struggled to get going, folding for 152/8 despite a fighting 50-run stand between Nitish Kumar Reddy (31 off 34) and Heinrich Klaasen (27 off 19). Captain Pat Cummins chipped in with a late cameo of 22 off 9 balls*.
Siraj was ably supported by Prasidh Krishna (2/25) and Sai Kishore (2/24), as SRH’s top order once again faltered under pressure.
GT chased down the target comfortably in just 16.4 overs, thanks to a sensational *90-run partnership between Shubman Gill (61) and Washington Sundar (49)**. The victory took Gujarat to second place on the points table with three wins from four games.
Siraj’s performance, along with the renewed ability to shine the ball using saliva, is already changing the dynamics of the season, giving bowlers a long-awaited edge in a batsman-dominated tournament.