The first test of the 4 match Border Gavaskar series was done and dusted on Saturday. Team India took 1-0 lead in the series after winning the game by an innings and 132 runs. Next stop in the series is New Delhi as the two teams prepare to face each other in the 2nd test. The eyes of the fans will be on both the teams as team India rides wave of confidence. Australia on the other hand have been bruised as they were done in by the Indian spinners.
The bowler whom Rohit and Kohli hate to face –
Dinesh Karthik was part of the commentary team witnessing India win over Australia. The 37 year old was part of Cricbuzz’s show Rise of New India. Speaking during the show, Dinesh Karthik called Mohammad Shami a torture. Karthik said “If I have to use one word for Shami, it will be “torture Shami.” Because in my whole career, he is the toughest bowler I have faced in the nets, he has got me out a couple of times as well in the match. But he has been nasty to play in the net. I thought I was the only one, so then I asked Kohli and Rohit, and they are all legends of the game, and they all said they hate playing Shami,”
DK talks about Shami’s biggest strength –
Entering into his 10th year with team India, Shami made his test debut in late 2013 against West Indies. After a few tough eqrly years, Shami has been the best test bowler for India since 2016. The 32 year old is known for his good speeds with the new ball and ability to reverse swing with the old ball.
DK further said on Cricbuzz “What makes him (Shami) so special is – all of his strength come into play in net session. His upright seam position, his natural length, that nasty length of 6-8 metre mark, where the two major modes of dismissal are caught behind or caught at slip. And you can see why he has been unlucky over a period of time as well, because that length says that he gets the batsman beaten numerous times but never gets that wicket. He has travelled overseas in series where he constantly ended up being the bad bowler because he is the bowler got gets most deliveries beaten, but never the amount of wickets to show for,”
Shami’s contribution with the bat and ball at Nagpur –
Mohammad Shami picked 3 wickets in the game and scored 37 with the bat to play a small but key role in the Indian win. Shami got Warner’s stumps gojng for a walk in the 1st dig, before getting the wickets of Lyon and Boland in the 2nd. With the bat, Shami scored 37 off 47 with 3 fours and 2 sixes as he added a key 9th wicket stand with Axar Patel. What makes Shami so special was disclosed by DK when he said “For a fast bowler, the revs are close to 1000 rpm when the ball is released, but for Shami, it is close to 1500–1600 rpm. That is what makes him special. When you have that amount of backs-spin, when there is little bit of the wicket, he is literally unplayable”