One of the more vocal, constant questions during India’s all-conquering run in the early stages of the World Cup was: Where's Mohammed Shami? The captain, the head coach, the bowling coach, everyone waxed eloquent about what an awesome resource the pace bowler was to have, but how India were finding it difficult to fit him into their scheme of things. It took an unfortunate injury to Hardik Pandya for India to finally ‘create’ space for the 33-year-old. It didn’t take long for Shami to prove exactly what he brings to the table, or to show up the folly of leaving a pedigreed performer on the bench so as to artificially extend the batting order and field Shardul Thakur who, with due respect, is not a match-winner either with the ball or with the bat.
Mohammed Shami is India’s most experienced paceman and the second-most experienced bowler in this World Cup squad after R. Ashwin, the exceptional off-spinner who too has been relegated to the sidelines after the tournament-opener against Australia. A fantastic Test match bowler, Ashwin's white-ball credentials aren’t to be disregarded either; he is a proven wicket-taker, both up front and towards the final stages of the innings, an invaluable asset in an era where teams like to keep wickets in hand for a final assault in the last fifth of an innings in the 50-over game.
Once a one-dimensional bowler who seemed a little lost when batsmen went after him, Shami has evolved into a true leader of the pack. Indeed, were it not for the peerless Jasprit Bumrah, Shami’s would have been the first name in the Indian World Cup XI, but such is the array of riches Rohit Sharma can dip into that Shami has often had to cool his heels in frustration, hiding behind the ‘what is best for the team’ cliché but surely smarting at not being given the stage to showcase his prowess.
In Dharamsala on Sunday, when the team management was forced to move the pieces around to compensate for the absence of Pandya the all-rounder, Shami made up for lost time. More than made up, you could say.
It took him exactly one delivery to make an impression. Brought on after eight overs with New Zealand 19 for one, Shami struck with his first ball, an in-cutter that grew big on Will Young, hit the Kiwi opener’s bat hard near the splice and went on to rattle the stumps. It was a terrific opening statement though typically, Shami didn’t celebrate in an outlandish manner. When you have been around for as long as he has, which is exactly 10 years now, you don’t feel the need to prove a point to anyone else but yourself.
This isn’t Shami’s first rodeo. He was the lynchpin when India reached the semis of the 2015 edition in Australia and New Zealand, a run during which they picked up 77 of the 80 wickets on offer in their eight games. Shami had played that tournament with a knee injury, remarkably well concealed, but without losing any potency or pace, his impeccable wrist and therefore seam position and the propensity to move old ball and new in and out making him the most dangerous proposition.
The emergence of Bumrah 10 months later, and the influx of additional pace resources with Mohammed Siraj establishing himself as an all-weather destroyer, meant Shami was no longer at the top of the pecking order. While that might not have been too hard to digest, it must have been galling for him to occupy the bench when a ‘lesser’ paceman in Thakur figured in the XI in the interest of team dynamics. Thakur is a handy cricketer, without a shadow of doubt, somewhat making up for his high economy rate through his happy knack for taking wickets. The perception that, at No. 8, his batting can be useful in a crisis has bolstered his utility value, but would one rather go with someone who is more likely to take more wickets while conceding fewer runs, or with someone who might take wickets and who might score runs but isn’t really a specialist in either discipline?
Young’s wicket was merely the appetizer before the main course, which came in Shami’s final burst. From 19 for two, New Zealand had moved into a position of great promise through Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell, who put on 159 for the third wicket. Summoned for a second spell, Shami foxed the left-handed Ravindra with a slower delivery which he poked to long-on but despite that, it was New Zealand’s game to lord when they came into the last ten overs at 219 for four, Mitchell closing in on a hundred.
Rohit, handicapped by the presence of just five bowlers, moved his resources around astutely, aware that Bumrah and Shami in the last four overs would be more than a handful. He wasn’t to be disappointed; Bumrah kept up the pressure with his relentless accuracy, his searching yorkers and subtle changes of pace while Shami was metronomic, bearing down on the stumps, always looking for wickets. They say the best dot ball in cricket is the one that comes with a ‘W’ (wicket). Never was that saying more justified than on Sunday evening.
Shami’s ruthless attack on the stumps fetched him the scalps of Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry, both capable batsmen, off successive deliveries. When he dismissed Mitchell in the final over for 130, it took him to his third five-wicket haul in ODIs, and his second in World Cups. No Indian had previously taken more than one World Cup five-for; for Shami to go into uncharted territory in his first game of the tournament spoke not merely to his skills and his control, but also his preparedness and the ability to switch on at the first hint of battle.
Five on five now after their first World Cup win over the Kiwis in 20 years, India have attracted another happy headache. What do they do going forward, when Pandya is available again? Shami at No. 8 when there is the need for four pacers, or a return to Thakur’s potential handiness? Wickets, wickets, wickets, or maybe wickets and runs? From the outside, the choice seems fairly obvious, but that’s not how the game is played, is it?
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