All the eyeballs were on Mohammed Shami at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot. After 436 days, the pacer will don the India cricket team jersey once again. Such was the craze of Shami returning that a fan from his neighbouring city of Sambhal travelled nearly 1,500 kilometres to watch fellow Uttar Pradesh statesmen alive in action.
Shami’s ball-by-ball analysis on Team India comeback
Shami was handed the ball by captain Suryakumar Yadav to deliver the first ball of the India vs. England 3rd T20I. The whole crowd was glued to their seats. And here we go.
Over 1: Good swing and control
- Ball 1: Steaming in from the Pavilion End and starting with a good outswinger pitched on a good length, the pace was good enough (135), and it just missed Phil Salt’s bat before reaching Dhruv Jurel on one bounce.
- Ball 2: Shami continued on the same line and length. This time, Salt looked to hit it straight down the ground. The timing wasn’t great, and it took the inside of the bat to go past Shami and raced to the boundary.
- Ball 3: He switched it up with an inswinger this time. Once again on good length. Salt got his bat to it and managed to chip him to the fielder at midwicket.
- Ball 4: Shami returned to the outswinger. This was closer to stumps and perhaps the best bowl he bowled yet. Salt knocked it to mid-off.
- Ball 5: A wayward ball on the pads that Salt hit to backward square leg.
- Ball 6: His first ball to Ben Duckett, and Shami attacked the stumps. Angled in, the southpaw hit it to the left of mid-on and got a single.
Over 2: Seam movement and perfect seam position
- Ball 7: Seam movement for the first time. A good ball on the sixth stump that left Jos Buttler after hitting the pitch.
- Ball 8: Another out-seamer on a good length. Buttler guides it to point. No run.
- Ball 9: This time an in-seamer. Buttler chipped it over mid-off. Not the best timing but enough to get two runs.
- Ball 10: On the stumps (off) and mistimed to the right of mid-off for a single.
- Ball 11: For Duckett, Shami is keeping it into the stumps. On the off stump. No room, and the southpaw hits it to point.
- Ball 12: Again on the stumps. But Duckett was expecting it. He moves to his left and scoops it over the wicketkeeper for a maximum.
Third over: Erratic
- Ball 13: Waist-high ball at the body, and Adil Rashid cheekily guides it to the left of the fielder at short third man. Expensive start.
- Ball 14: Another shortish delivery, Rashid works it for a single to mid-wicket.
- Ball 15 (no ball): Beamer at Mark Wood’s head. Slipped from Shami’s hand. Sanju Samson can’t even gather it cleanly.
- Ball 15: Off-cutter, Rashid swings hard and misses. A good ball from a free hit.
- Ball 16: This time at the head, Rashid pulls it for a single at mid-wicket.
- Ball 17: Short and wide outside off. At good length, Wood spanks it to sweeper cover. Dhruv Jurel keeps it down to two with a good bit of fielding.
- Ball 18: Another short ball outside off and another single.
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