How did Mohammed Siraj do on his return to Ranji Trophy?

Ace pacer Mohammed Siraj returned to Ranji Trophy by featuring in the seventh round clash between Hyderabad and Vidarbha, which wasplayed at the VCA Civil Lines Ground in Nagpur. Sidelined from India's white-ball set-up despite being the most successful bowler for India in the previous season, Siraj chose the domestic route to continue his rhythm and impress the selectors to be considered once again.

The match started with Hyderabad winning the toss and choosing to field first. On the opening day of the match, Siraj was at full throttle, bowling a total of 18 overs, the most for Hyderabad in the first innings. The speedster also bowled seven maiden overs, while giving away just 47 runs. Not only this, Siraj was also the most economical bowler in the first innings among those with minimum ten overs, giving away runs at just 2.61 per over.

Although Siraj didn't have a large share of wickets for the visiting side, he picked the wicket of Harsh Dubey, the highest scorer for Vidarbha in the first innings. Dubey was on song with 65 runs, which included seven fours and a quartet of sixes, before the southpaw was undone by Siraj, getting caught by Himateja K on the 46th delivery he faced. Vidarbha, who had already qualified for the knockout stages, were bundled out for 190 in the first innings.

In the second innings, Hyderabad dominated with the bat, largely orchestrated by the 136 from Tanmay Agarwal. Batting at 10, Siraj did not get an opportunity to bat and remained not out when Hyderabad lost their last wicket for 326 runs, where they had already gained a substantial lead.

Siraj, although not among multiple wickets in the first innings, returned even better in the second innings to hand three crucial breakthroughs for his side. Firstly, he got the wicket of night-watchman Aditya Thakare in the 20th over, followed by the dismissal of Danish Malewar in his very next over. After he was removed from the spell, Vidarbha cached onto the occasion and built a steady partnership.

However, the moment the Hyderabad pacer was brought back into the attack, he took the wicket of in-form Yash Rathod to bag his third wicket in the innings. Luck did not favour Siraj further though, as despite tight line and lengths, the home team batters made sure to leave him devoid of any further wickets. They posted a solid 355 runs in the second innings, handing the tourists a target of 213 runs to win the contest.

It wasn't meant to be, however, as Dubey, also known for his lethal left-arm orthodox bowling, wreaked havoc with a six-wicket outing in the target defence. Siraj had nothing to lose when he came in to bat, and put a valiant effort to hit 26 runs off just 14 balls, studded with three boundaries and a couple of maximums, although it wasn't enough, as Hyderabad had to return home, eventually falling short of the target by 58 runs.

Let's take a recap of Siraj's performance on his Ranji return

Looking back, Siraj bowled a total of 38 overs across the innings, 11 of which were maidens and scalped four crucial wickets. Primarily in the team as a bowler, Siraj did more than expected out of him to score 26 runs in the second innings, after not getting a single delivery in the first innings, marking an impressive return to his Ranji Trophy.