Gautam Gambhir objected to Virat Kohli being given the Man of the Series award alone, saying, ‘Granted that..’
Virat Kohli scored two centuries in the series against Sri Lanka and he was also the highest run-scorer in the series during this period. At the same time, Mohammad Siraj was the highest wicket-taker with 9 wickets.
Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, who was a part of two World Cup-winning teams, believes that Virat Kohli and Mohammed Siraj should have been given the Man of the Series award jointly after winning the ODI series against Sri Lanka. Virat Kohli scored two centuries in the three-match series against Sri Lanka and was also the highest run-scorer in the series during this period. On the other hand, talking about the performance of Mohammad Siraj, he took a total of 9 wickets, Siraj’s performance during the entire series was excellent. I know you are always tempted to give player of the series awards to batsmen, but Siraj was absolutely exceptional, feels Gambhir.
Gautam Gambhir told Star Sports, ‘He (Mohammed Siraj) was equal to Virat Kohli. He should be the joint man of the series. He was exceptional and his brilliant spells came on the batting wickets. I know you are always tempted to give player of the series awards to batsmen, but Siraj was absolutely exceptional. He was able to set the tone in every game. He is the player of the future and is getting better with every series.
Let me tell you, the first match of the series was played in Guwahati, where Siraj got two wickets. At the same time, Siraj took three wickets in the second ODI played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. In the third ODI, the Indian bowler improved his performance further by taking four wickets. During the series, a total of 9 wickets came in Siraj’s account and his economy was around 4.
Talking about the match, with the help of excellent centuries from Virat Kohli (166*) and Shubman Gill (116), Team India managed to put 390 runs on the board while batting first. The Sri Lankan team, which came out to chase this huge score, got piled on just 73 runs. Only three batsmen managed to cross double figures for the guests. During this, Mohammad Siraj shone in bowling for India, who took four wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammad Shami got two successes each.