Senior India fast bowler Mohammed Shami once again got on a roll against New Zealand in this World Cup 2023.
In the group game against New Zealand in Dharamsala, Shami picked up a five-wicket haul in what was his first game of this tournament. Tonight, at the Wankhede stadium, in the semi-final, Shami returned with figures of 7/57, becoming only the 5th bowler in ODI World Cup history to take a 7-wicket haul, and the first bowler to do so in a knockout match.
I felt terrible: Mohammed Shami on dropping Williamson’s catch
Mohammed Shami now has the most number of five-wicket hauls in World Cup – Shami has taken 4 five-fors in World Cup history, three of which have come in this tournament alone, going past Mitchell Starc’s previous record of three five-wicket hauls in ODI World Cups.
However, there was one moment when Shami let it slip and it could have proven costly when he dropped Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain. Shami dropped Willamson in the 29th over at mid-on off the bowling of Jasprit Bumrah. This was when Willamson and Daryl Mitchell were smashing boundaries and keeping New Zealand alive. That moment stunned the entire Wankhede.
On dropping Kane Williamson’s catch, Mohammed Shami said: “I dropped Williamson’s catch, I shouldn’t have. I felt terrible.”
Four overs later, however, Shami made amends, and in style, by dismissing Williamson and Tom Latham in one over.
With this 7-fer, Mohammed Shami became the leading wicket-taker of the World Cup 2023, with 23 wickets in only 6 matches! Shami is the first Indian men’s bowler to take a 7-wicket haul in an ODI match, breaking Stuart Binny’s record of 6/4.
Speaking about his performances in this tournament, Shami said: “I was waiting for my chances. I didn’t play a lot of white-ball cricket. My return started against New Zealand [in Dharamsala]. We talk a lot of variations, but I still believe in pitching it up and getting wickets with the new ball. The focus was to try and take pace off, see if they’re hitting it in the air.”
India have reached their first ODI World Cup final since the 2011 World Cup. The final is on Sunday. The second semi-final is on Thursday between Australia and South Africa in Kolkata.
