Pouncing on the first opportunity that he got, Mohammed Shami sent a strong signal to the Indian Cricket Team. The ace pacer picked a powerful fifer in crucial India vs New Zealand clash of the World Cup. Shami made his first appearance for the Men in Blue as he replaced Shardul Thakur from the Indian Playing XI. Shami took 5/54 in 10 overs at an economy rate of 5.54 on his return to Playing XI.
And he put on a show against a formidable New Zealand batting line-up. With his stunning performance, the Indian pacer overtook legendary spinner Anil Kumble to become country’s second-highest wicket-taker in the history of ICC Cricket World Cup.
Notably, this was Shami’s second 5-wicket haul in the World Cup. He is the first Indian bowler to take two 5-Wicket haul in World Cup history. In just 12 WC matches, the 34-year-old has 36 wickets at an average of 15.02 and a strike rate of 17.6.
Most wickets for India in World Cups
44 – Zaheer Khan
44 – Javagal Srinath
33* – Mohammed Shami
31 – Anil Kumble
Shami’s stature in bowling is as high as Virat Kohli: Harbhajan Singh
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh lauded Mohammed Shami after a brilliant performance and claimed that pacer’s stature in bowling is as high as Virat Kohli’s in this team.
“What Mohammad Shami has done is remarkable because in the next match, when Hardik Pandya returns, it will be an interesting question of who will be left out. Mohammad Shami’s stature in bowling is as high as Virat Kohli’s in this team”, Harbhajan said.
“No amount of praise for Mohammad Shami can be enough. There’s no one better in the same position. His yorkers, slower balls, and bouncers are unbelievable. It shows that he is, in his own right, similar to Virat Kohli. We hold Virat Kohli in high regard on this stage and often talk a lot about him when he scores a century. But when someone takes 5 wickets, it’s just as good as scoring a century”, the former spinner added.
Talking about the match, India are in a commanding position in 274-run chase. After opting to bowl first, Indian bowlers started well and got rid of both the Kiwi openers but a partnership of 159 runs between Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra (75 in 87 balls, with six fours and a six) helped NZ come back in the game.
However, India made a comeback in later stages, bundling out Kiwis for 273 runs in 50 overs.
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