Shami and the art of reverse swing

Tribune News Service

Mohammad Shami used reverse swing to good effect against the Kiwis on the final day of the Kanpur Test to put the hosts on track to victory, but the pace spearhead says it is not an easy art to execute.

Shami said the team had to wait till the last day to reverse swing the ball.

“A lot of effort is put in to get the reverse swing. Every member of the team makes it a point to keep the ball dry at all times and maintain it throughout the day. There are times when you will get reverse swing, but if it gets wet, you won’t be able to execute swing perfectly as the ball tends to get heavy,” Shami said after India’s historic win in the 500th Test. 

On the final day of the first Test, Shami executed the skill with perfection to trap Kiwi wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling in front of wickets, before cleaning up Mark Craig to pave the way for India’s victory.

“Consistency and accuracy is very important for reverse swing. If you bowl too full you will go for runs and if you bowl back of length, you won’t be able to get swing. As a bowler you have to pitch the ball in the right areas and maintain that line and length consistently. To execute reverse swing well, I work hard to get my line right,” he said.

The speed merchant said the ball wasn’t reversing early on in the innings and the team was waiting for the moment when the ball could reverse. “We were waiting for the moment for three days and it finally reversed on the fifth day,” he said.

Shami said there was a different joy in bowling reverse swing and he loved to bowl with the old ball.

“The old ball is one of my main weapons and I am comfortable bowling with it. I know if I can get a hint of reverse swing, I can use it to good effect. I love bowling reverse swing. When I get the feeling that it is going to reverse, I look to hit the top of off-stump maximum number of times or else I aim at the batsman’s pads,” said Shami, who has so far taken  60 wickets in Test matches.

India arrive sans Kumble

Kolkata: The Indian squad, sans coach Anil Kumble, arrived here along with the New Zealand team ahead of second Test starting Friday. Kumble is slated to join the team tomorrow morning ahead of their practice session in the afternoon. The Black Caps, meanwhile, arrived with Jeetan Patel in place of injured off-spinner Mark Craig.

India can reclaim No.1 Test spot after winning Eden Test 

Dubai: India will reclaim the  top spot in Test rankings from Pakistan if they manage to win the second Test. The victory in Kanpur meant India is now a win away from reclaiming the Test Championship mace from Pakistan. India had entered the series against the Kiwis, trailing Pakistan by a point and needed to win the series to move ahead of their traditional rival.

Gambhir in Test squad after two years

Kolkata: Opener Gautam Gambhir returned to the Test squad after two years in place of injured Lokesh Rahul for the last two matches of the Test series against New Zealand. Rahul was ruled out for the remainder of the Test series due to a right hamstring injury sustained during the first Test. Ishant Sharma, who was ruled out of the first Test due to chikungunya, will miss the second match as well and uncapped Haryana off-spinner Jayant Yadav was named as his replacement. Gambhir had appeared for a fitness test at the NCA in Bengaluru today. The 34-year-old Delhi batsman, who played his last Test in August 2014 on India’s tour of England, was impressive in the Duleep Trophy, where he scored four back-to-back half-centuries including two 90-plus scores. — PTI