Such iconic and historic was the 7-wicket haul from Mohammed Shami that senior India off-spinner R Ashwin kissed the fast bowler’s hand when he entered the dressing room after his match-winning spell against New Zealand in the World Cup 2023 semi-final in Mumbai that put India in the final of the tournament.
The only blip from Mohammed Shami on Wednesday evening at the Wankhede stadium was a dropped catch of Kane Williamson. But the senior pace made up for it with Williamson’s wicket along with 6 others that helped India record a 70-run win, and quash the scars of the 2019 semi-final loss in Manchester against the same opposition. Shami was benched in that game four years ago.
Mohammed Shami became the first Indian men’s bowler to take a 7-wicket haul in ODI cricket and his 7/57 is now the best figures by a bowler in a World Cup knockout game.
Watch: R Ashwin kissed the hand of Mohammed Shami, see Shami’s reaction
Upon entering in the Indian dressing room, Mohammed Shami got a great response from the players and staff. But perhaps the best of the emotion was shown by off-spinner R Ashwin, who kissed Shami’s right hand and hailed him for his magnificent bowling show.
The BCCI uploaded the video of the dressing room interactions on Twitter.
Here check out by following this link:
Raw emotions & pure joy post a special win at Wankhede 🏟️
Thank you to all the fans for the unwavering support 💙
WATCH 🎥🔽 – By @28anand#TeamIndia | #CWC23 | #MenInBlue | #INDvNZ | @yuzi_chahal https://t.co/8fhKUtO1Ae
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2023
Shami’s 7 wickets included all of the New Zealand top 5 batters, including centurion Daryl Mitchell and half-centurion Williamson.
He’s now the top wicket-taker in the tournament with 23 scalps in only 6 matches. He was benched for the first four matches.
Speaking about his performances, 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.”
The second semi-final is on Thursday between Australia and South Africa.
