The Indian pace attack seems to be well prepared for their away tour in South Africa. The fast-bowling quartet of Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur, and Ravichandran Ashwin as the lone spinner, comprised the bowling line-up.
Story of 1st Innings
Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat at the SuperSport Park. The Karnataka opening pair of KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal made a century stand together; the latter fell to Lungi Ngidi after making a well-deserved 60. Rahul made his 6th overseas century with an exceptional 123(260).
The 2nd Day of the match was completely washed out due to heavy rains. 3rd Day began with the departure of a well-set Rahul. After his downfall, India managed to accumulate only 49 runs and finished with a first-innings total of 327. Lungi Ngidi was rewarded with 6 wickets for his lion-hearted spell.
Shami shone with the ball for India, as he ended with figures of 16-5-44-5. Both Bumrah and Thakur picked a couple of wickets each, and Siraj claimed a scalp. Outstanding bowling performance resulted in South Africa making just 197 runs, providing India with a critical lead of 130 runs.
Shami’s Trailblazing Bowling
Keegan Peterson was Shami’s first victim, as the South African number 3 played on an in-swinging good length delivery. He then cleaned up Aiden Markram with a peach of a delivery hitting the top of the off-stump.
All-rounder Wiaan Mulder bottom edged a ball that kept relatively low, and a simple catch from Rishabh Pant completed Shami’s 3rd wicket.
After a well-made fifty, Temba Bavuma fished one outside off and nicked it to Pant- who caught his 100th dismissal in Test cricket.
The fall of Kagiso Rabada to an outside edge completed a deserving 5-wicket haul for the Bengal pacer.
One for the Records
Shami made many records en route to his 5-wicket haul. It was his 6th fifer in 55 matches, and he also became the 5th Indian pacer to bag 200 Test wickets.
He broke teammate Ashwin’s Indian record of the fewest deliveries to claim 200 wickets. Shami took just 9896 deliveries, whereas the off-spinner had taken 10248 deliveries.
He also became the 3rd quickest Indian pacer to the 200-wicket mark in Test Matches, only behind Kapil Dev (50) and Javagal Srinath (54).
Humble Beginnings
The 31-year-old pacer gave credit to his father and brother for his successful international career. Hailing from Sahaspur Ali Nagar, a small village in the Amroha district of Uttar Pradesh, Shami reminisced about the days when his father and brother helped him Prepare as a cricketer.
Shami’s Statement on his Achievement
“I’ve said many times in the media that I want to credit my father. I come from a village where there are no facilities even today. My father would force me to travel 30km from there, and sometimes accompany me, and that struggle has always stayed with me, and I always credit my father and brother who backed me and helped me play the game in those conditions and that situation. If I’m here today, the credit goes to them.”
Shami is one of the mainstays in India’s fast bowling fragment in recent days. Along with Jasprit Bumrah, he has been a catalyst to India winning Test matches regularly overseas. If India wins its first-ever test series in South Africa, Shami will have to play a pivotal role in the bowling department.
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