World Cup 2019: Mohammed Shami - India's (P)ace Card
Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah ran through the West Indian batting order with ferocious pace and accuracy, a rare sight in the past for Indian fans. We have seen Indian bowlers over the years utilize swinging conditions well but they did not have the speed to hurry the batsmen, that has all change and we are now witnessing vigorous fast bowling from India's pacers.
Bumrah has been one of the best fast bowlers for over a year now but the emergence of Shami, in the limited overs format, in particular, has taken many by surprise. After coming into the side to replace Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who injured himself against Pakistan, Shami has grabbed the bull by its horns and has made full use of the opportunity that he received.
Against Afghanistan, he sealed an intense game with a hat-trick, and in the following game he ripped through the West Indies batting line up, picking up four wickets for just 16 runs with some sublime fast bowling.
Shami always looked like a decent bowler, especially in test matches he gets the ball to nip around at a fair clip. Since he came back from injury, over the last year he has worked on his fitness and is now reaping the rewards for all the hard work put in. He's shed around seven kilos, looks much fitter and his precision and speed with the ball has improved. He mentioned in an interview after the West Indies game that losing weight has helped him bowl quicker because he does not need to worry about his body holding up, he can just run in and bowl fast.
Against the West Indies, Shami removed both Chris Gayle and Shai Hope early and the ball he bowled to Hope was a dream ball, which pitched outside the off stump and seamed in to send the off stump cartwheeling. Even the ball he bowled to Gayle hurried the "Universe Boss" and cramped him for room, leading to a catch at mid-on.
When it comes to cleaning up the tail, Shami can do that with his eyes closed. We saw in the Afghanistan game, he came in and picked up a hat-trick with three consecutive yorkers, and mind you he was under tremendous pressure, especially when a well-set Mohammad Nabi was still at the crease.
No doubt, in Bumrah, Shami has a brilliant bowling partner and together the pair are tormenting opposition batsmen with ferocious fast bowling, a beautiful sight especially for Indian fans. It is not just the speed which is awe-aspiring, but the line's and lengths that this pair bowls are immaculate. With the new ball, the West Indies were hardly able to score runs of Bumrah and Shami, and even with the old ball they came in and took wickets to close off the game.
Bumrah has a toe-crushing yorker in his arsenal, which almost always lands perfectly, and with his subtle variations, he always keeps the batsmen on his toes. Both Bumrah and Shami have definite plans to dismiss batsmen and so far in this World Cup, they have executed these plans to perfection and are not allowing the batsmen to get on top of them.
Even if Bhuvi returns to fitness, it will be hardly possible to drop Shami now, he has picked up seven wickets in the two matches he's played and has provided India with breakthroughs almost whenever he has a spell. Yes, that means India's tail will lengthen but on the other hand, his early wickets and immaculate bowling will save more runs for his side.
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