T20 World Cup: “You saw what he did”- Rohit Sharma thrilled by Mohammed Shami’s splendid comeback as India beat Australia in warmup game
Indian captain Rohit Sharma is delighted with ace pacer Mohammed Shami’s excellent comeback to Team India. Defending 11 runs in the 20th over, the speedster gave away only four runs and picked up three wickets in the warmup match against Australia in Brisbane on Monday (October 17).
Speaking to Star Sports after the match, Sharma said:
“He [Shami] is coming back after a long time, so we wanted to give him an over. Wanted to give him a challenge and let him bowl the final over, and you saw what he did.”
In the last over, the pacer picked up four wickets off the last four deliveries, including a run out.
While Kohli took a breathtaking catch at long-on to dismiss Cummins off the third ball, Shami ran out Aston Agar at the non-striker’s end on the fourth delivery.
He finished the over with deadly yorkers to uproot stumps as Josh Inglis and Kane Richardson departed for duck(s). India won the match by six wickets.
Mohammed Shami to strengthen India's bowling department in T20 World Cup
Shami will strengthen the bowling department for Team India which failed to deliver in the death overs at the Asia Cup and the last two T20I series against Australia and South Africa at home.
The right-arm seamer is making T20I comeback after the 2021 T20 World Cup. He looked excellent in IPL 2022 for the champions Gujarat Titans, picking up 20 wickets in 16 matches.
The GT pacer seemed excited to rejoin the Men in Blue for the T20 World Cup in Australia.
In an Instagram post, he wrote:
“It required a lot of hard work, commitment and dedication to be back, but the journey to Australia has been thoroughly rewarding. No better feeling than to be back with Team India and my boys. Looking forward to the World Cup.”
The 32-year-old is likely to be next seen in action in the warmup fixture against New Zealand (October 19). He will be looking to prepare nicely for the Super 12 clash against arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne on Sunday (October 23).