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Cricket

‘Shami is back’- Mohammed Shami’s last-over brilliance strengthens India’s hopes of winning the World Cup

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Sam Abraham
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Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami: (Image Source: Twitter)

At one point, India’s veteran pacer Mohammed Shami was not even in India’s scheme of things for the 20-20 World Cup 2022. However, he was later added in the list of reserve players for the big-ticket event.

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Later, Jasprit Bumrah got ruled out of the tournament and there were widespread speculations on his replacement. The selectors decided to give Shami another opportunity to showcase his mettle in a 20-20 World Cup. Shami is now in India’s 15-man squad for the upcoming 20-20 World Cup.

Interestingly, he didn’t feature in any T20 international since participating in the 20-20 World Cup last year. On Monday, Rohit Sharma handed him the last over of the warm-up fixture against Australia with 11 runs to defend.

It never looked like the 32-year-old Indian fast bowler was out of match practice. He bowled all the deliveries at the block hole and not bowled a single bad ball in that over. Shami ended up picking 3 wickets and conceded just 4 runs. The sensational over from the veteran helped India win the game by 6 runs, in the end.

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After the game, skipper Rohit Sharma also explained that it was their plan to give Shami one over in the final stage of the game as he was coming after a long gap.

"He (Shami) is coming back after a long time, so we wanted to give him an over. Wanted to give him a challenge and let him bowl the final over, and you saw what he did," he said.

It’s not a hidden fact that India have been struggling to bowl well in the death overs. With Jasprit Bumrah not in the team, Shami, perhaps, could be the answer for India in the tournament going forward.

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The fans also came up with tweets, hoping that Shami would help India win the elusive trophy. Here’s a look at the different reactions:

India 20-20 World Cup 2022 T20 World Cup