"The Indian team really misses him" - Dinesh Karthik on Mohammed Shami's absence from IND vs SA 1st Test
Veteran keeper-batter Dinesh Karthik believes that Team India are missing senior pacer Mohammed Shami in the ongoing Boxing Day Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park in Centurion.
South African batters dominated the proceedings on Day 2, with opener Dean Elgar remaining unbeaten on 140. India managed to take five wickets. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj claimed two wickets each, while debutant Prasidh Krishna finished with one scalp.
During a discussion on Cricbuzz, Karthik mentioned that Shami would have achieved great success on the seam-friendly surface in Centurion. He said:
"The man has grown in stature as a bowler and as a leader of the pack. He is an able lieutenant to Jasprit Bumrah. You can imagine with the upright seam on this kind of pitch. I promise you, he would have definitely gotten a few wickets. The Indian team really misses him."
Mohammed Shami was ruled out of the two-match Test series between India and South Africa due to an ankle injury.
Karthik pointed out that while Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj bowled tidy spells on Day 2, they did not get enough support from Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur, adding:
"Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna going for close to 118 runs in their 27 overs. On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj going for just 111 in their 31 overs. Siraj was a tad bit expensive, especially in the last spell, they also bowled some brilliant balls. You could see every time they were on, you got the feeling that they could get you a wicket or two. Whereas with Shardul or Prasidh, you had to wait for a batter to make a mistake."
South Africa have taken an 11-run lead over India, finishing 256/5 at stumps on Day 2.
"Can be a bit unfair to Rohit Sharma to say that he had a bad day" - Dinesh Karthik on Indian skipper's captaincy
On commentary, former India head coach Ravi Shastri seemed unhappy with Rohit Sharma giving the ball to Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur at the start of the second session.
Dinesh Karthik opined that Sharma would have taken the call to manage the workload of premier pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, adding:
"It can be a bit unfair to Rohit Sharma to say that he had a bad day in terms of rotating bowlers. Did his team have a bad day? I definitely think so. Why he would have gone with that choice (starting the second session with Prasidh and Shardul) is because if he had burnt Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj out, it would have been harder, knowing that there was a longer day at play."
Dean Elgar (140*) and Marco Jansen (3*) will resume batting on Day 3. India will look to make early inroads on the third day to stage a turnaround.