Team India fast bowler Mohammed Shami is inarguably one of the most underrated players in world cricket. He made a sensational Test debut against the West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November 2013, claiming nine wickets (4-71 and 5-47) as the Indians defeated the Windies by one innings and 51 runs.
After the brilliant start, Shami was hailed by pundits as the next big thing in Indian cricket, especially in the fast bowling department. However, the meteoric rise of Jasprit Bumrah and Shami’s concurrent struggles due to injury, form and personal issues meant that the Bengal pacemaker’s international career was in jeopardy.
However, Shami overcame his difficult phase in pretty incredible fashion to re-establish himself as one of the key members of the team, particularly in the test arena. Few fast pitchers have as flawless a seam position as the 32-year-old.
One of the standout characteristics of experienced right-arm bowlers is their ability to bring down batsmen with nearly unplayable pitches. Even as the spinners have dominated the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy between India and Australia, Shami has held his own with some key shots.
In this article, we look at five cases where the fast bowler sent stumps spinning.
#1 David Warner (Nagpur Test, Feb 2023)
Shami dismissed Australian opener David Warner for 1 with a peach from a delivery on Day 1 of the Nagpur Test in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The Australians had won the toss and elected to bat first in the opening Test of the series.
The Indian pacer sent Warner back on the first pitch of the third. The Indian pacer got a seam from outside off the stump, bowling from around the wicket. The ball whizzed past Warner’s outside edge as he attempted a defensive shot. The delivery hit the lefty’s pad before rebounding off the stump, which went for a walk.
The Indian fast bowler claimed two more wickets in the second innings as the hosts defeated the Australians by an innings and 132 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series with two days to spare.
#2 Jonny Bairstow (Southampton Test, September 2018)
Shami fully bowled to England batsman Jonny Bairstow in the fourth Test of the five-match series during India’s tour of England in 2018. Bairstow was bowled for a golden duck on Day 3 of the Test in the second innings of England.
With the first ball after lunch, the Indian pacer broke through the Bairstow defense and brought down the batsman’s leg stump. The English batsman attempted a loose pitch, but the ball went in sharply and crashed into the stumps.
The wicket put Shami in a hat-trick as he had caught Keaton Jennings (36) lbw with the last ball before half-time.
A hat-trick was not to be, but the Indian fast bowler claimed four wickets in the second innings. His efforts were in vain, however, as the batsmen missed a chase for 245, being bowled out for 184 in 69.4 overs.
#3 Kraigg Brathwaite (Rajkot Test, October 2018)
Shami bowled a ripper to see off West Indies Test captain and opener Kraigg Brathwaite (2) in the early innings of the first Test at Rajkot in October 2018. India batted first after winning the toss and recorded 649-9 Declared debutant Prithvi Shaw (134), Virat Kohli 139) and Ravindra Jadeja (100*) hit centuries.
West Indies needed a solid start in response, but Shami brought Brathwaite down with a beauty. The right-hander played for one who walked away. However, the ball came back sharply after hitting the seam, hitting the pad and sending the stump flying.
The pacer claimed two wickets in the game, as India won the one-sided contest by an innings and 272 runs. (WATCH VIDEO)
#4 Glenn Maxwell (Hyderabad ODI, March 2019)
While Shami has tasted most of his success in red ball cricket, he has also done reasonably well in limited overs matches. Indeed, the closer has an excellent one-day record, claiming 159 wickets in 87 games at an average of 25.95.
In the first ODI of the five-match series against Australia in March 2019 in Hyderabad, he cleaned out dangerous batsman Glenn Maxwell. The Big Show looked good for a big in 40. Shami, however, got a good length delivery to close the seam and broke through Maxwell’s defense.
The right-arm pacer finished with figures of 2-44 in ten overs as India restricted Australia to 236-7. Kedar Jadhav (81* for 87) then guided the Men in Blue to a six wicket victory. (WATCH VIDEO)
#5 Faf du Plessis (Visakhapatnam Test, October 2019)
In the second innings of the first Test against South Africa in Visakhapatnam in October 2019, Shami led India to a 203-run victory by taking numbers of 5-35 in 10.5 overs. Four of his five victims were shot down, including opposition captain Faf du Plessis.
The then South African captain threw his arms over his shoulder for a delivery that came back sharply after a pitch and sent the stump tumbling. Du Plessis (13) looked on in disbelief as Shami left to celebrate. The Indian bowler also cleaned up Quinton de Kock (0) with an accurate pitch.
Set a target of 395, the Proteas pooled for 191 in 63.5 overs. Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja chipped in at 4-87.