No signs of rust, Mohammed Shami took Bengal to the quarter-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Cup, smashing a game-changing 17-ball 32 and scoring 13 dot balls in his four overs, paving the way for his side’s thrilling three-run win over Chandigarh on Monday. With no clarity on his return to international duty, the 34-year-old played his eighth SMAT T20 game in 16 days and completed his full quota in almost all the games. That day he used the long handle for the first time to good effect, scoring 19 runs with the experienced bowler. Sandeep SharmaThe final ended with Bengal at 159 for 9 after falling to 114 for 8.
He hit two sixes and three fours, mostly scoring runs, but the final wicket stand was 21 off 10 balls Sayan Ghosh turned out to be decisive.
Bengal had set a target of 160 for Chandigarh.
Mohd. Shami provides the decisive breakthrough late on with 32*(17)
Karan Lal top scored with 33 (25)
Jagjit Singh Sandhu was Chandigarh’s best bowler with figures of 4/21.#SMAT | @IDFCFIRSTBank
Scorecardhttps://t.co/u42rkbUfTJ pic.twitter.com/gQ32b5V9LN
— BCCI internal message (@BCCIdomestic) December 9, 2024
Veteran Kolkata slinger Maidana Ghosh (4/30), known as a death overs specialist, played a brilliant final that required 11 runs as Nikhil Sharma’s planning went awry. Chandigarh were restricted to 156 for 9.
Shami looked fit to bowl.
Already warmed up well with 17 deliveries, Shami had a very good first spell and removed opener Arsalan Z Khan from the very third delivery, caught by Shakir Habib Gandhi.
Compared to his first Ranji Trophy game against Madhya Pradesh, where he looked overweight and slightly paunchy despite bowling 42 overs, Shami looked leaner on Monday and the famous vertical seam delivery was very noticeable.
During the Ranji match, many pundits discussed how his follow-up, which is a fairly straight delivery, ended in a cover, an indication that he was unable to complete his action.
But on Monday, the sequel looked much simpler than that comeback game.
It rolled at an average speed of 135 clicks per spin at 139 km/h. During the first innings of three overs, he made just 11 runs, including one lofted boundary on Manan Vohra and the striped four of Amrit Lal Lubana, who rushed a shot that turned into a Chinese putt.
In the final over, which was the penultimate of the innings, he was picked for a boundary and a six as he attempted a slow pull which was picked out by Jagjit Singh Sandhu.
Shami has played a total of nine home games so far – one Ranji Trophy (42.3 overs) and eight SMAT T20 games (31.3 overs). He bowled a total of 64 overs and took 16 wickets.
Is Shami suitable for Test level?
He looks quite at home, even though it is a four overs format, but in a Test match as the main bowling partner Jasprit Bumrahhe would have to bowl at least three, if not four, 20-over spells on an average day. He will also need to bowl 100 overs.
It is believed that the national selectors are ready to select him as and when he is deemed fit, but there is a discussion going on in the BCCI corridors that the veteran speedster himself has told the NCA medical team that “he is still not ready for a Test match.”
He told his experts that he has no problem while bowling, but after matches he feels a slight swelling in his knee, which the Test captain said Rohit Sharma also mentioned in his interaction with the media after the Adelaide Test defeat.
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