Pacer Mohammed Siraj emotionally pulled out of his run-up while bowling to Virat Kohli during the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Gujarat Titans (GT) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
Siraj, who opened the bowling for GT, looked a little overwhelmed when he faced Kohli, his former captain and teammate. Just before delivering a ball to the star batter, he pulled out of his run-up, possibly taking a moment to collect himself. However, Kohli smashed a trademark cover drive for four on the very first delivery he faced from the pacer.
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07:36 AM · Apr 03, 2025
Despite the initial emotional moment, the 31-year-old delivered a Player of the Match-winning performance. He finished with figures of 3/19, dismantling RCB’s top order in the powerplay. His dismissals included Devdutt Padikkal and Phil Salt, with the former’s stumps seen cartwheeling. His third and crucial breakthrough came in the form of Liam Livingstone, who was looking dangerous in the death overs.
There was some nervousness and some emotion: Siraj
By removing the in-form batter, he restricted RCB’s momentum as they were looking to add more 20-25 runs to their total. Speaking after the match, the Hyderabad-born opened up about the emotional moment of playing against his former team.
“It was emotional because I played for seven years here (for RCB). There was some nervousness and some emotion but the moment I got the ball in my hand, it was full-on (intensity). (On his celebration) That I am here (ready for the contest), and I am a Cristiano Ronaldo fan as well,” he said.
Ahead of the fixture, Siraj and Kohli shared a warm hug during training. Having played seven seasons for RCB, the speedster was released ahead of the 2025 mega auction and was snapped up by Gujarat Titans for a whopping INR 12.25 crore. For the Bengaluru franchise, Siraj is still their third-highest wicket-taker with 83 wickets in 87 games. This game was his first return to Chinnaswamy as an opposition player.
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