Mohammed Siraj dedicates his POTM award to late Hyderabad cricketer Abdul Azeem (Mohammed Siraj Twitter)
Mohammad Siraj dedicated his player of the match award to former Hyderabad opener Abdul Azeem who passed away recently
Mohammed Siraj won the player of the match award for his impressive four-wicket haul against the Punjab Kings that helped Royal Challengers Bangalore win by 24 runs. After RCB’s third win in the IPL 2023 season, Siraj dedicated his Player of the Match award to former Hyderabad cricketer Abdul Azeem, who passed away recently.
Siraj opened fire with the new ball, claiming two more dismissals of Nathan Ellis and Harpreet Brar, before returning to bowl in the death overs with the quick wickets of Atharva Tayde and Liam Livingstone.
The 29-year-old registered figures of 4/21 and took 12 wickets in the IPL 2023 season, thus also claiming the Purple Cap. Siraj praised former Hyderabad opener Abdul Azim after RCB’s win.
IPL 2023 Mark sheet: Check Team Standings, Team Points, Wins, Losses and orange cap, purple cap
“Dear Azeem Sir, I will always appreciate what you have done for me and many others like me. You were so generous, kind and helpful, can’t thank God enough for allowing me to meet you. I wish I could get one last chance to meet you but still I want to dedicate today’s POTM award to you,” wrote Siraj on Twitter.
Dear Azeem Sir, I will always appreciate what you have done for me and many others like me. You were so generous, kind and helpful, can’t thank God enough for allowing me to meet you. I wish I could meet you one last time but still I want to dedicate today’s POTM award to you pic.twitter.com/XIp08EnybF– Mohammed Siraj (@mdsirajofficial) April 20, 2023
Azim was one of the finest openers in domestic cricket for Hyderabad and the veteran had been on dialysis for some time. In his career, Abdul played 73 first-class matches between 1980 and 1995, scoring 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries before retirement.
IPL 2023: orange cap Check out the full list of batsmen with the most runs here
Talking about his flamboyant spell against Punjab Kings, Siraj revealed that he added new dimensions to his bowling during the lockdown.
“Lockdown was very important for me. I was quite down before that because I used to be expensive earlier. I focused on my gym training, my bowling and I wanted to do well.”
IPL 2023: purple cap See the full list of bowlers with the most wickets here
“My rhythm was good even in ODIs, my confidence was high and I have brought that into this IPL season. The first ball (to Atharva Tayde) was a bit short. Then I tried to bowl a little fuller because I was getting in shape. If I take wickets in the powerplay, the opposition comes under pressure,” Siraj said.
Royal Challengers Bangalore moved up to fifth in the IPL 2023 standings with their third win this season and Faf du Plessis’s side will next square off against table-toppers Rajasthan Royals on April 23.
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