'Comes from within...': Anand Mahindra lauds Mohammed Siraj for giving Man of the Match prize money to Sri Lankan ground staff

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj on Sunday won hearts as he donated his Player of the Match cash prize of $5,000 to the Sri Lankan ground staff who worked tirelessly through the rain-hit Asia Cup.

Industrialist Anand Mahindra was also moved by Siraj's wonderful gesture and took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to appreciate the player's move. "Just one word: CLASS. It doesn’t come from your wealth or your background. It comes from within...," he wrote.

Siraj received the Player of the Match for his performance in the final, which India won by 10 wickets to win their eighth Asia Cup at the R Premadasa Stadium. Siraj bowled a devastating spell in which he took four wickets in the fourth over en-route to a career-best 6/21 to help India bowl out Sri Lanka for a paltry 50 in the final.

"The groundsmen will receive this cash prize. Without them, this tournament would not have been possible," Siraj said after being named Player of the Match.

Earlier on Sunday, the Asian Cricket Council chief Jay Shah also announced a cash reward of $50,000 for the groundsmen in Kandy and Colombo as an acknowledgment for their efforts in making the field of play ready.

Almost all the matches in the Sri Lankan leg of the Asia Cup were affected by rain. Even the final on Sunday had a delayed start because of wet outfield.

While India's opening fixture against arch-rivals Pakistan in Pallekele was washed out, a couple more encounters throughout the competition saw rain interruptions bringing the Duckworth Lewis method into effect.

The Super-4 meeting between India and Pakistan spilled on to the reserve day, when the former prevailed.

Not just Anand Mahindra, stars like SS Rajamouli, Mahesh Babu, Vicky Kaushal and Anushka Sharma lauded the pacer for his performance on Sunday.

"Siraj Miyan, Our Tolichowki boy shines at the Asia Cup final with 6 wickets... And has a big heart, running to long-on to stop the boundary off his own bowling...," filmmaker Rajamouli wrote.

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