"It's still his favourite hunting ground" - Fans react to Mohammed Siraj's fiery spell in RCB vs GT IPL 2025 clash
Gujarat Titans (GT) pace Mohammed Siraj was on fire during the team's IPL 2025 encounter with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday, April 2. The seamer parted ways with RCB following a seven-year stint after being released ahead of the IPL 2025 auction.
He bowled a terrific spell against his former franchise. GT won the toss and chose to field first. Siraj shone with the ball in the powerplay, claiming the crucial wickets of Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal.
The 31-year-old bowler did a commendable job in the death overs as well, removing half-centurion Liam Livingstone and conceding just four runs off the 19th over. He finished with fantastic bowling figures of 4-0-19-2.
Many fans shared posts on social media reacting to Siraj's stellar showing against RCB at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. Here are some of the top reactions on X:
"Mohammed Siraj is demolishing RCB at the same ground that made him a star. He is fired up and telling the crowd that it’s still his favourite hunting ground. He has silenced the crowd that used to cheer for him. This is IPL at its best," wrote a fan.
"Bro arrived with a mission! Siraj has bowled his best IPL spell today at Chinnaswamy - 3/19 (4). This is also the first time Siraj has conceded less than 20 runs at this venue after bowling 4 overs," commented a fan.
"RCB didn't retain Siraj in this cycle and now Siraj killed the game in the powerplay by taking 2 important wickets in his former home stadium against his former team, love it when the universe decides to give it back," remarked another.
"Nah man Siraj saved up all that aggression and form for this one game at Chinnaswamy," chimed in yet another.
It is worth mentioning that Mohammed Siraj registered his best-ever IPL figures at the venue. His bowling exploits played a pivotal role in GT restricting RCB to 169/8 in 20 overs.
Liam Livingstone was the top performer with the bat for the home team, scoring 54 runs off 40 balls. Jitesh Sharma and Tim David played important knocks of 33 and 32*, respectively.
"It was a bit emotional for me to leave RCB" - When Mohammed Siraj spoke about being released by Bengaluru
Mohammed Siraj was roped in by GT for ₹12.25 crore at the IPL 2025 auction. After the event, the fast bowler admitted that leaving his former team was an emotional moment for him.
He also emphasized that Virat Kohli supported him a lot during his time with RCB. Speaking to PTI, Siraj said (via India Today):
"It's a good feeling to join Gujarat ahead of the new season. Yeah, it was a bit emotional for me to leave RCB because Virat bhai had supported me a lot in tough times, but we have a fantastic team here under Gill."
Siraj has picked up five wickets from three outings in IPL 2025 at an economy rate of 8.91.