India pacer Mohammed Shami said that he felt terrible after dropping New Zealand skipper Mohammed Shami’s catch in the semi-final of ODI World Cup 2023. The bowler, however, returned the figures of 7/57 as India beat the Kiwis by 70 runs to enter the final.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“I dropped Williamson’s catch, I shouldn’t have. I felt terrible,” said Shami after the win over New Zealand.
Shami went past Ashish Nehra’s 6/21 vs England from 2003 ODI World Cup and 6/4 by Stuart Binny vs Bangladesh in 2014 and now has the best figures for an Indian in ODIs and ODI World Cups.
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This was also Shami’s third five-wicket haul in the ongoing World Cup as he sits atop the wicket-taking charts with 23 scalps in just six matches. Overall, Shami became the fastest to reach 50 wickets in ODI World Cups – taking just 17 innings to reach the mark and now has 54 wickets to his name.
The bowler, who came into the side after Hardik Pandya got injured in India’s fourth match against Bangladesh, has been lethal ever since.
“I was waiting for my chances. I didn’t play a lot of white-ball cricket. My return started against New Zealand [in Dharamsala],” said Shami.
The Kiwis were in the match at the half-way mark with 220-2 in 32 overs while chasing 398 but Shami’s double-wicket over changed the complexion of the game instantly.
Speaking about the bowling after the game, Shami said: “We talk a lot of variations, but I still believe in pitching it up and getting wickets with the new ball. But the focus was to try and take pace off, see if they’re hitting it in the air. It was a chance we had to take [with the variations]. The wicket was very good, lots of runs were scored in the afternoon. There was some fear of dew, the grass had been shaved off from the wicket. If dew was there, it skids on and there’s a chance runs could’ve been made.”
India will now face the winner of Australia vs South Africa in the final on November 19 in Ahmedabad.
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