Mohammed Shami turns 34: Here are the pacer’s 5 greatest bowling spells

1. 7/57 vs New Zealand, Mumbai, 2023

Thanks to splendid centuries from both Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer, India posted a humongous total of 397/4 against New Zealand in the semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2023. In reply, the Kiwis tried their level best to achieve the target, however Shami’s incredible 7-wicket haul crushed all their hopes. In the end, the visitors got bowled out for 327 runs as India advanced to the final with a 70-run victory. With this spell, Shami became only the fifth bowler to take a 7-wicket haul in a World Cup match.

2. 6/56 vs Australia, Perth, 2018

After getting bowled out for 283 and trailing by 43 runs, the Indian team knew that they had to bowl out Australia for a low score otherwise they would have no chance of winning the Test, and Shami’s fabulous 6-wicket haul helped the Men in Blue in doing just that. The fiery spell helped the visitors in bowling out the hosts for 243 and the target that they had to achieve now was that of 287. However, the Indian batting order underperformed big time as the Aussies bowled them out for only 140 runs and won the match by a 146-run margin.

3. 5/18 vs Sri Lanka, Mumbai, 2023

During India’s group stage match against Sri Lanka in the 2023 ODI World Cup, the likes of Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer hammered the opposing bowling attack in every corner of the Wankhede stadium. Thanks to their knocks, the Men in Blue posted a massive total of 357/8 after 50 overs. After this, it was the bowlers turn to shine and Shami’s magnificent 5-wicket haul tore apart the Sri Lankan batting order. The visitors could only manage to score 55 runs before getting bowled out as India won the match by a mammoth 302-run margin.

4. 5/28 vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 2018

After being only able to set a target of 241 runs for the South Africans to achieve in the final innings of the Test, the Indian bowlers knew that they had to give it their all in order to win the match and that is exactly what they did. Though every Indian bowler performed brilliantly, it was Shami who clearly stood out from the rest as his 5-wicket haul dismantled the South African batting order. Both Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah also took 2 wickets each as the Men in Blue bowled out The Proteas for a total of 177 and won the match by 63 runs.

5. 5/35 vs South Africa, Visakhapatnam, 2019

Thanks to a double-century from Mayank Aggarwal and centuries in both the innings from Rohit Sharma, India kept South Africa on the back-foot throughout the Test match. In the end, The Proteas were given a target of 395 runs to chase by the Men in Blue. In the final inning, Shami yet again showed his magic and picked up the important scalps of Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma and Quinon de Kock to dismantle the South African batting order. He ended with an amazing 5-wicket haul as the hosts bowled out the visitors for only 191 and won the match by 203 runs.

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