IND v AUS 2020: 'India got it slightly wrong' - Allan Border feels Mohammed Shami should have opened the bowling on Friday
In what was an intriguing decision, India opened the bowling attack with pacer Umesh Yadav on Friday. Australian great Allan Border didn't concur and suggested Mohammed Shami should have taken the new ball instead.
Yadav, who is playing the Border-Gavaskar trophy as a replacement for the injured Ishant Sharma, is a designated swing bowler. On the flip side, Mohammed Shami relies more on the seam movement off the pitch.
Yadav opened the attack with Jasprit Bumrah and as a pleasant surprise, bowled tight lines with the get-go. However, the duo couldn't bag a wicket early on.
It was only after Mohammed Shami was introduced in the 10th over that he and Bumrah fired in tandem and applied maximum pressure on the Aussies. The latter sent both the openers packing in consecutive overs soon after.
Allan Border said Mohammed Shami's bowling style would have suited the conditions more on the day.
“I think they got it slightly wrong with who they opened the bowling with,” Allan Border said.
He added:
“I think Shami seems to be the perfect style of bowler who will kiss the wicket rather than hit the wicket and that seems to be what‘s happening. When they got the ball up a bit further and at the stumps with an appropriately set field they started to have some more success."
He further explained:
“That seems to be the way to go; you‘ve got to get a bit fuller, a bit straighter, set a stronger on-side field and work away like that as your tactic rather than be bowling in a corridor outside off stump where they can let the ball go, four or five overs go by."
Mohammed Shami was the most economical bowler of the innings
Although Mohammed Shami's wickets column has little to show, he was the most economical bowler of the evening. In 17 overs the right-arm pacer was incessant with his fourth-stump line and length. He beat batsmen many times and was pin-point with his bouncers.
At the end of the day, Mohammed Shami's figures read 17-41-0-2.4. India currently leads by 62 runs and Australia will be wary of fourth-innings-Shami.
The 30-year-old's record in the 4th innings of Test matches is unparalleled. In 50 games where he has bowled in the last innings, Mohammed Shami has a staggering average of 20.00.
Day 3's proceedings will begin at 9:30 am in Adelaide.