Wankhede Wonder: How Mohammed Shami Ship-Wrecks The Best In The Business
Shami scripted history with his 7/57 in Wankhede (AP Photo)
The number of times Mohammed Shami has worked wonders especially when it seemed his colleagues had won the game for India deserves to have a film made on it separately.
It wasn’t too long ago, but long enough to be called a time period where neither among KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill had made their World Cup debuts for India that Shami single-handedly saved India from a possible World Cup embarrassment.
When Shami ate the Afghans thinking of them as Kebabs.
Many of us are likely in awe of the most recent 7-for by the medium pacer that won India their semi-final clash just hours ago.
And why shouldn’t one marvel at a spell that first broke the back of the Kiwis and later, derailed a batting performance called the Daryl Mitchell Express just when it seemed a train wreck at Wankhede was perhaps on the cards for India?
But just imagine what embarrassment would the most powerful cricket board in the world have suffered had the often under-appreciated and always brilliant Shami not had a thing or two to say in that Afghanistan clash in the previous edition of the ODI World Cup?
On a day where let’s face it, the mighty Indian batsman wasn’t caught off guard for that’d be putting it mildly, but completely deceived by Afghanistan as they huffed and puffed on their way to 224, defeat seemed certain for the biggies at Southampton.
Only a team that lacked the basics- such as running the singles, converting the 1’s into into 2’s and ticking the scorecard during the difficult periods would’ve struggled to win, which also in some ways explains where teams like the West Indies are today.
However, unless one decided to voluntarily abstain from these cricketing basics, there was no way Afghanistan, that pretty much ticks all the right boxes, were going to lose that game.
The likes of Rahmat Shah, 36 runs back then along with with Gulbadin Naib, 27 with the bat, had looked capable if not pure matchwinners as India found it difficult to topple down an opponent it would’ve been expected to crush from the onset of the first ball.
But one man, one lone reason for India avoiding a next-to-certain embarrassment came to the team’s rescue when at 106-for-4, the game seemed firmly positioned to their opponent’s delight.
That’s when Shami, who had actually fired the opening salvo in removing the dangerous Zazai, got back into his groove.
Striking back crucially courtesy his wicket of Nabi, whose personal best score of 52 all but defeated India, Shami wasn’t done just yet.
With big support at the other end coming from Pandya and Bumrah, Shami would soon clean up the tail and emerge with a four-for.
That’s when the run chase, the inveterate India fan had begun to see, would be chased down. But then such ordinary or expected sagas don’t happen in a certain Mohd. Shami’s life.
Not a product of hype; but if pure performance
There are some whose simple and far from glamorous lives serve a case in point that maybe not everyone needs to be a hype monster.
That maybe focusing on the task at hand such as disturbing the batter’s timber and making every run count is far more valuable than having burgeoning fan bases of one’s own.
There's more to Indian fast bowling than Bumrah
India has undoubtedly the best bowling unit in WC (AP Photo)
And if that’s even remotely true then one would understand why Mohammed Shami, who is right now just six away from 200 ODI dismissals, is on a path of his own.
It’s one where there’s a huge chance of being undermined, if not undervalued since his significantly more popular colleagues’ names read a certain Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Rohit Sharma.
And yet not even Bumrah can do what Shami does with exceeding consistency and amid pressure.
With no disrespect to a bowler of Jasprit Bumrah’s quality and many today would simply love to have him enter their playing eleven directly, Shami’s ability to produce gems under pressure is redoubtable and second to none.
The wonder with the ball at Wankhede
What happened at the Wankhede a few hours ago was a prime example of this as while Shami broke a very dangerous top order featuring Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, his colleagues, Bumrah and Siraj stood wicketless.
Even the great Kane Williamson, who deserves so much praise for playing yet again, a captain’s knock amid pressure (69 off 73), was sent packing by Mohammed Shami.
Next in queue, for that’s how things transpired not long after Kane and his able effort ended, was Tom Latham.
The usually crafty and courageous Latham went for nought; Shami catching the left-hander plumb in front during a stage of the match where Daryl Mitchell still hung around.
The next set of dismissals even as they came after a spurt of sixes and brave batting by Mitchell, too belonged to the man who was in no mood to stop. Mohammed Shami’s incredulity with the ball was perhaps like that of Kohli’s with the bat.
Such forces of nature can’t be stoped; they can only be admired. In the end, a 7-for-57 inside 10 overs with a ball to be delivered precisely to complete the full quota was enough on its own to shipwreck New Zealand.
The Kane Williamson of bowling?
Kane Williamson's NZ got knocked out the World Cup (AP Photo)
In a way, the skill set and talent of Shami, India’s man-of-the-moment mirror the persona of the very man whose team he dislodged at the Wankhede (pretty much alone): Kane Stuart Williamson.
Both hardly ever celebrate their successes.
Both ever unwilling to punch above their weight even as there are occasions where thanks to their dexterity, such vanities of life can be afforded.
Preferring to hit the deck hard and depending on the rising delivery to get most of his wickets, Mohammed Shami stuck to his plans and in so doing, did the basics, by self-admission. In the end, there could only be one victor. But on a truly unforgettable semi-final evening mired in the energy-sapping heat of Mumbai, India actually had two.
First- the legendary Virat Kohli, who made his 50th one-day ton and thereafter, the man whose name shan’t be forgotten: Mohd Shami.
How’s that for a winning feeling, folks?
 "Dev Tyagi")
