The 19th match of the 2025 IPL season is underway in Hyderabad, with the home team, Sunrisers Hyderabad, facing off against the Gujarat Titans. Gujarat’s pace bowler, Mohammed Siraj, has made his mark early on, claiming the wickets of both Hyderabad openers, Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma.
Siraj’s strategy was simple yet effective: target the stumps. He delivered a series of balls that pinned Head and Abhishek down, making it difficult for them to score. Head fell first, caught by Sai Sudarshan at mid-wicket for 8 runs off 5 balls. Abhishek followed suit, caught out for 18 runs off 16 balls.
What’s notable is that Siraj had a clear plan in place. When he came on to bowl his first over, he decided to focus on bowling at the stumps, with only two balls straying outside the off stump. Head took advantage of those loose deliveries, hitting two fours. But when Siraj stuck to his plan, bowling at the stumps, Head struggled to score and eventually fell.
The same approach worked for Siraj against Abhishek. He bowled at the stumps, making it tough for Abhishek to play his shots. The Hyderabad batsman tried to hit a shot over mid-on but ended up getting caught out.
Gujarat’s bowling attack didn’t let up after Siraj’s initial breakthroughs. Prasidh Krishna and Sai Kishore delivered impressive spells, with Krishna picking up two wickets for 25 runs in 4 overs and Sai claiming two wickets for 24 runs. Siraj was the pick of the bowlers, with four wickets to his name, as Hyderabad struggled to reach 152 runs in 20 overs.
