Cricket World Cup: Mohammed Shami picked up 23 wickets in six games and is the leading wicket-taker in the showpiece event
Mohammed Shami has arguably bowled one of the best spells in the history of the Cricket World Cup on Wednesday against New Zealand when he picked up seven wickets. One of the features of his bowling was how he would come around the wicket and trouble the Kiwi left-handers with his proper seam presentation.
Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Latham and Mitchell Santner are the left-handers that Shami picked with impeccable accuracy.
“When Shami bowls to a left-handed batter from round the wicket, the dismissal is bound to happen. He is that accurate,” Misbah-ul-Haq said on ASports.
The wickets of Rachin Ravindra and Tom Latham have typified Shami’s spell. The former was in two minds if to go forward or stay on the backfoot to face a good length delivery from the quick bowler and eventually edge one to the keeper. The latter was done by a delivery which jagged back and hit his pads and was given out leg-before.
“He is the sensation. Taking 4 or 5 wickets is understandable but 7 is huge. He has 23 wickets in the ongoing edition and 50 overall. I am happy with the way he has bowled,” Wasim Akram would say.
Not only left-handers Shami also was lethal against right-handers. Just when it looked like things were drifting away from India’s grasp he picked the crucial wicket of Kane Williamson which started to turn the game in favour of India.
“Last two World Cups, we lost (in the semifinals),” Shami said after the game. “Who knows when or if we’ll get a chance? So, we wanted to do everything for this, one chance we didn’t want to let go.” With this thought in mind, out of sheer desperation to break a threatening partnership more than anything else, captain Rohit Sharma turned to his crisis man in what was his side’s first real test of this World Cup.
Bowling to tailender Lockie Ferguson, who had just hit him for a six, Shami pitched the ball a little short of length and outside the off stump. It kissed Ferguson’s bat and wicket-keeper KL Rahul safely pocketed the catch to put the result beyond any doubt.
Source:indianexpress.com