"Bumrah was looking to just swing the bat at the bouncers" - Mohammed Shami on his partnership with his fellow pacer
Mohammed Shami has revealed that Jasprit Bumrah was just looking to swing his bat at the bouncers bowled by the England pacers. He also opened up about the advice he gave the latter on how to tackle those deliveries.
Shami and Bumrah got together in the middle when Team India were in a precarious position, having a lead of only 182 runs with just two wickets in hand. The duo stitched together an unbroken 89-run partnership for the ninth wicket to ensure that the visitors could not lose the match before they eventually went on to register a stunning win.
During a post-match interaction on Sony Sports, Mohammed Shami was asked about the pair's strategy to tackle the bouncers hurled at them by the England bowlers. He responded:
"Bumrah was looking to just swing the bat at the bouncers. I told him that you are anyway swinging the bat and if he retains his shape, the ball will go on its own. There is not too much to think about because it was coming at 90 mph, even batsmen get beaten, so if you remain straight, you will get beaten. I told him to just wait for the fuller deliveries and not miss those."
Shami added that he wanted to take the attack to the English bowlers when the lead had swelled beyond 200 runs but still had to exercise restraint. He elaborated:
"We were looking to add 30-40 runs in the morning, to take the lead beyond 180. Then we would have got two to two-and-a-half sessions to defend that. I was waiting to be given the freedom to swing the bat when we got a lead of 200 but still retained my patience there."
The England bowlers bombarded the Indian lower-order batsmen with short-pitched deliveries. The hosts were peeved by a similar tactic employed by Bumrah against James Anderson in the England first innings.
"The attempt was to add as many runs as possible" - Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Shami replied in the negative when asked if he had told the team management to term him an all-rounder now. He observed:
"I have never said that. It was just the role I had this morning. The attempt was to add as many runs as possible, as it would be better for the team and we will get into a good position."
The 30-year-old signed off by stating that both he and Bumrah were only looking to build the partnership steadily. In this regard, Shami said:
"We were thinking ball-by-ball and over-by-over and not thinking too far ahead. Because we are bowlers, we don't get that much time in the nets. So it becomes necessary to think just one over at a time."
Shami's unbeaten 56 came off 70 deliveries and was studded with six fours and a six. Bumrah struck three boundaries during the course of his unbeaten 34-run knock.