The Indian pacer Mohammed Shami is performing in a consistent way and it is happening for him after a long time. After the brilliant Australia tour, Shami has set a perfect start in the New Zealand tour by winning the Player of the Match award at the end of the first ODI against the hosts at Napier on Wednesday (23 January).
In the Napier ODI, Shami provided a perfect start by dismissing both the Kiwi openers (Martin Guptill 5 and Colin Munro 8) at the very early stages. Later, he dismissed Mitchell Santner and finished the game with the bowling figure of 6-2-19-3. His brilliant bowling effort led the visiting side to bundle out the hosts for just 157 runs and later India comfortably chased the revised target of 156 runs for the loss of two wickets.
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Talking about his game, Shami spoke about his journey since the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. The 28-year-old right-arm pacer claimed that his present confidence level is very high and he is hopeful to continue this.
Shami said, “It has been a long journey. I played the 2015 World Cup, then got injured and it took me two years to recover. After the rehab, I made it to the 2016 World T20 squad. Then after a while, I got full confidence and felt like I was back on track.
“You saw in 2018, I played regular Test cricket. The confidence level is very high, I am bowling with the same speed that I used to earlier. Hope I can continue this.”
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After dismissing Martin Guptill in the Napier ODI on the second over of the match, Shami becomes the fastest Indian bowler to claim 100 ODI wickets as he did it in 56 ODI matches.
However, Shami has claimed that Test cricket is his favourite format. Recently, in the four-match Test series in Australia that India created history by winning it with the 1-2 margins, Shami finished as the third most wicket-taking bowler after picking up 16 wickets.
He added, “I like Test cricket more than other formats. The way we have done in the last three-four series (as a bowling unit), it does your confidence a world of good. If the bowling unit is delivering, the pressure is divided and that helps you give your best.”
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While the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup is just four months away to begin in England and Wales, Shami is not thinking too much for that.
Shami quoted about the upcoming big tournament, “I am not thinking too far ahead. It depends on my fitness and performance when the team is picked. As I said, we have the best bowling unit. They can pick anyone.”
