Mohammed Shami replaced the injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the Indian team for the game against Afghanistan. A more fitter Shami who had left Biryani to achieve the maximum level of fitness looked impressive right from the first bowl he bowled. He soon pick the wicket of Hazratullah Zazai to give a hope to India who were defending a low total of 225 runs.
Indian bowling line up led by Jasprit Bumrah did reasonably well to restrict the Afghanistani batsman but the resistance from Mohammad Nabi kept the Afghan team in the game. They needed 16 runs off the last over and Mohammed Shami bowled the last over for India.
Nabi hit him for a four on the very first ball of the over, beating the long on fielder. He took no run on the second ball but the turning point of the game came in the third ball of the over when Shami bowled a full delivery on which Nabi tried to clear the long on fielder for a six but only managing to get caught by Hardik Pandya.
He hit the timber of Aftab Alam and Mujeeb Zadran on the 4th and 5th ball of the over to complete the hattrick and become the second Indian to achieve the feat in the world cup.
Sachin Tendulkar picks between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami
Despite Shami’s heroics in the game against Afghanistan, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar feels that Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be preferred over him for the clash against West Indies on 27th June in Manchester.
“For the upcoming match between India and West Indies, if I had to choose between Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami, I would definitely pick Bhuvneshwar Kumar,” Tendulkar told Star Sports. “It’s great news for India that Bhuvneshwar Kumar is fit. I have seen his body language which showed that he is really confident,” Sachin said.
“I know it will be a little unfortunate for Mohammed Shami but I believe for this game, Bhuvneshwar Kumar should be picked,” he added.
