New York, June 13 (IANS) India pacer Mohammed Siraj bagged the ‘Fielder of the Match’ medal for his outstanding athleticism on the field in the seven-wicket win against the USA in the T20 World Cup on Wednesday night.
India not only completed the hat-trick of wins in the showpiece event but also progressed to the Super Eight stage of the tournament. In the previous two games at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, the Rohit Sharma-led side outclassed Ireland and Pakistan to start the campaign on high.
Continuing the tradition of acknowledging the fielding efforts of the players, India’s legendary all-rounder and T20 World Cup brand ambassador Yuvraj Singh presented the medal to Siraj, who grabbed two catches and a run-out on the final ball of the innings.
The pacer went wicketless in his four-over spell but he grabbed catches of Aaron Jones (11) and Nitesh Kumar (27), particularly taking the wonderful grab at the deep midwicket of the former.
Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav and Siraj were among the contenders for the medal.
“Whenever he is on the field, he not only took those catches and made those runouts, but it is an attitude. And every time he went on there, it was an attitude that was willing to make a difference,” said Yuvraj in a BCCI video.
Indian fielding coach, T Dilip lauded the effort of his troops for their outstanding effort on the field.
“I always believe our team’s consistency is what separates from good to great. And I think that was a perfect example. We showcased that very well today. Well done in the first three games,” said Dilip.
“Every small effort, changing in pace, not giving up on the boundary line, backing up, going to hotspots, these are the small things that make a lot of difference as a group. This helps us to be the best version of ourselves, every time we keep pushing those limits.
“It is very, very important to acknowledge small errors is natural. And what makes us so special is we come back and keep pushing ourselves to the best. And that’s what we can see in the last two games that even if we had a couple of errors, we came back very strongly as a unit. Well done!” he added.
India will next take on Canada in their last group-stage match in Florida on Saturday.
–IANS
ab/bc
