Former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh hailed Indian pacer Mohammed Shami for his brilliant bowling against Australia in the opening game in Mohali. The right-arm pacer picked a five-wicket haul to help India win the game by five wickets on Friday.
With the new ball, Mohammed Shami appeared to be in fantastic rhythm in Mohali and he was equally effective against the Australian batters in the middle and the final overs of the game. The 33-year-old has improved his chances of making India’s World Cup XI with this five-wicket haul.
During a discussion, Mark Waugh heaped praise on Shami for bowling at the perfect line and length from the start of the innings and warned that Shami is always threatening with his half-volley length in the game.
“He hit the perfect length and that’s where he got the batsmen caught at the crease. So not too short or not too full. Just the perfect length where you get a little bit of movement. You’re going to hit the stumps still, but the batsmen can’t get a four. Shami was always threatening with that half-volley length. It’s a fine margin, but on this type of track, you need to be spot on,” Mark Waugh maintained on Jio Cinema.
With Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami is vying for a berth in the starting XI as the third-choice pacer, the Bengal pacer has put his best foot forward to be part of playing 11 with his bowling. Although Thakur isn’t as skilled with the ball as Shami is, he frequently receives the nod because of his ability to use willow and benefit the team at number eight.
It’s Going To Be An Interesting Match-up Between The Two – Abhishek Nayar
Abhishek Nayar addressed the question of whether India will be able to field Mohammed Siraj and Shami in the same starting XI. The former Indian all-rounder feels that Mohammed Siraj has impressed everyone with his dream spell against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup 2023 final, while Shami has bowled brilliantly to bag a fifer against Australia in Mohali.
“It’s going to be an interesting match-up between the two. There’s going to be this thought process of picking wickets. You got to know the importance of picking wickets in today’s game because India managed to bowl out a strong Australian batting line-up where you’ve got Sean Abbott batting at No 10″.
“So, it just tells you that when you have bowlers capable of picking up wickets, there may very well be a toss-up between a Shardul Thakur where you are thinking whether or not you are thinking of going with that all-rounder’s slot or going with an out-and-out bowler who can pick you wickets in every phase of the game,” Abhishek Nayar added.
India will play Australia in the second ODI at Indore’s Holkar Stadium on September 24 before the final game in Rajkot to wrap up their preparation for the much-awaited ODI World Cup.
