IPL 2025: Siraj’s Fiery New-Ball Blitz Lights Up this season

Mohammed Siraj is tearing through IPL 2025 like a man on a mission. The pacer’s latest heroics unfolded on Sunday against Sunrisers Hyderabad, where he silenced a red-hot opening pair; Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma; in mere minutes. Bowling on his home turf, Siraj ripped out both dangermen, peppered his three-over spell with 13 dot balls, and later snagged two more wickets with some wicked reverse swing. His final figures? A T20 career-best 4/17. The Chinnaswamy faithful, once his home crowd, might’ve winced watching their old star shine elsewhere.

This season, Siraj’s powerplay numbers scream dominance: 6 wickets for 69 runs across 11 overs, with an economy of 6.27. No one’s topped that wicket tally after 19 matches. He’s leaving batters clueless with a 63.6% dot-ball rate; only Josh Hazlewood’s 72.2% edges him out among bowlers with at least two overs in the phase. Every scalp he’s claimed comes from good-length deliveries, hitting that sweet spot time and again.

Siraj in Powerplay in IPL 2025

Length	Percentage	Wickets/Runs	Balls	Economy Rate
Full	6.06%	0/4	4	6.00
Good	65.15%	6/45	43	6.27
Short	28.78%	0/20	19	6.31

In Sunday’s opener, Head smashed two boundaries; one a fluke; before Siraj had him caught at mid-wicket. Next over, he squeezed Abhishek with five straight dots, cramping him for room until the left-hander barely cleared mid-off on the sixth ball. Siraj pounced soon after, nabbing him at mid-on off a mistimed loft.

Rewind to earlier games, and the fire’s been there. Against Punjab Kings, he stayed tight with 0/14 in two overs before Mumbai Indians felt his heat; Rohit Sharma’s stumps cartwheeled from a vicious in-nipper, Phil Salt and Devdutt Padikkal bowled too. Jos Buttler fluffed a simple catch off Salt, but Siraj didn’t blink. His career powerplay stats tell a tale of two stories.

Result	Overs	Wickets	Average	Strike Rate	Economy Rate
In Wins	92	30	22.56	18.4	7.35
In Defeats	76	12	57.33	38.0	9.05

Powerplays win IPL games, and Siraj’s no stranger to that truth. Last season, he grabbed 4 wickets at an economy of 8 in four RCB home wins out of six; in the two losses, he leaked 0/42 across three overs. Gujarat Titans’ pacers, led by Mohammed Shami’s 28 scalps, notched 50 powerplay wickets in their first two seasons; 12 more than RCB’s 38, where Siraj chipped in 15. Without Shami in 2024, GT’s seamers bled 9.42 runs per over in the first six, the worst among all teams, and slumped to eighth.

Two years back, Siraj torched Sri Lanka in the 2023 Asia Cup final; five wickets in 10 overs, four in one over!; and powered India to the World Cup final. A recent Champions Trophy snub might’ve lit a fuse, and if this is his payback, the IPL’s in for a wild ride.

                                               

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