Indian bowlers picked up six wickets on the opening day of the pink-ball Test against Sri Lanka and five out of the six wickets were claimed by pace bowlers. In a situation like this, former India batsman Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on Indian pacer Mohammed Shami and also appreciated the Indian bowling attack.
Gavaskar speaks
According to Gavaskar, the 31-year-old Indian pacer Shami, “has been terrific” and he “is somebody who can bowl long spells.”
“Yes he is somebody who can bowl long spells, sustain that pace, and can build pressure with every single delivery. You need somebody like that. He has been terrific as well. People often forget that sometimes you got to be one of the quicker bowlers has to be a workhorse that means he has to bowl not just a four-over spell, but a six or seven-over spell and that is what Shami does,” Gavaskar said while talking to the host broadcaster.
“He runs in hard every ball and gives you everything. And he has got this ability that with just a little flick of the wrist he gets the ball to move either way. Tough to play him,” he further added.
Shami's superb bowling
On the opening day, Shami bowled six overs and picked up two wickets conceding 18 runs. Indian vice-capatin Jasprit Bumrah on the other hand, claimed three wickets on Day 1 as he bowled seven overs and conceded 15 runs. Indian spinner Axar Patel claimed one wicket.
While talking about the Indian bowling attack, the former India skipper said that “this Indian attack is a fabulous attack altogether” and the “new-ball attack is exceptional.”
“This Indian attack is a fabulous attack altogether. The new-ball attack is exceptional. Japrit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, there is Mohammed Siraj waiting, then Ishant Sharma, who did such a fabulous job but is not in the scheme of things at the moment and there is Umesh Yadav as well,”the 72-year-old former India batsman explained.
In the first innings, the hosts scored a total of 252 runs. Indian batsman Shreyas Iyer produced terrific batting as he scored 92 runs off 98 balls. In reply, the visitors ended the first day’s play scoring 86 runs.
