Mohammed Shami turned the World Cup 2023 semifinal on its head on a pitch where the batters dominated. Shami took seven wickets for 57 runs, the best bowling figures for India in ODIs. Shami was named ‘Player of the match’ for his sensational performance at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After India’s 70-run win, Shami revealed that the dew could have played a crucial role and worked in New Zealand’s favour.
“There was the fear of dew. The grass was cut off nicely. The runs were enough. Had dew come in, things could have been bad. The slower balls might not have worked,” Shami said in the post-match presentation.
Shami who was not in the first playing XI at the start of the World Cup, walked into the side after Hardik Pandya was ruled out of the tournament. Shami revealed that he was just being patient and waiting for his turn.
“I was waiting for my turn. I wasn't playing much white ball cricket. I had in mind, we talk about a lot of things like yorkers and slower balls. I tried to take wickets with the new ball. I try to take as many as I can with the new ball,” the pacer said.
While Shami was sensational with the new ball, he dropped a crucial catch of Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson but made up for his mistake later on in the game.
“I dropped the catch of Kane. I felt bad. I tried to take pace off. They were playing their shots. So, I took a chance. The wicket was good,” the 33-year-old said.
Shami may be playing his last ODI World Cup and he is enjoying the chances he is getting and make up for the last two semifinal losses.
“I feel amazing. This is a huge platform. We lost in the semis in the 2015 and the 2019 WC. Looking to cash in with the chance I have been given. We don't know when all of us will get a chance like this again,” he concluded.
With seven wickets against New Zealand, Shami became the fastest to 50 wickets in World Cup from just 17 innings. Also, he became the leading wicket-taker in World Cup 2023 overtaking Adam Zampa.
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