The renaissance man: Shami has been inspirational for incredible India

Rohit Mahajan

Mumbai, November 16

The Indian fans in the stands at the Wankhede, a battalion of 30,000 partisans clad in navy-blue, most with Kohli’s name and number on their backs, got a glimpse of horror last night. They wrung their hands, groaned often and aloud, when Kane Williamson and Daryl Mitchell cast a spell over them and the Indian team, lasting 25 overs.

Euphoric after nine emphatic wins in the group stage, the Indian fans do believe the World Cup rightfully belongs to India, and it’s theirs to lose; last night they were confronted by the horrible realisation that other teams fight, too, and they too have quality players who can bat a bit. This realisation became very stark during a partnership of 181 runs off 149 balls between Williamson and Mitchell. The crowd, whose fervour had reached a noisy crescendo when Virat Kohli scored his 50th ODI century, was silenced by Mitchell’s 85-ball century and Williamson’s fortunate but resolute half-century.

54 Mohammed Shami has 54 wickets in 17 World Cup matches

Horror reached its acme on the fifth ball of the 29th over, when Mohammed Shami dropped the easiest of catches at mid-on, giving another lease of life to Williamson. The crowd groaned as one and Jasprit Bumrah covered his eyes with both hands for he couldn’t believe what he’d just seen. Mitchell and Williamson had already added 147 by then and New Zealand needed 212 more — had Shami dropped the World Cup? Thirty-one runs were made in the next three overs, and the Indian fans, for the first time in the tournament, were made aware of the team’s mortality.

India captain Rohit Sharma later said that during the onslaught, it was essential to remain cool. “We were calm even though we were a bit sloppy on the field,” Rohit said. “But that can happen. We’ve got nine perfect games on the field. So, these things are bound to happen.”

Shami later said: “I dropped Williamson’s catch. I shouldn’t have.” Shami got this right — catches really shouldn’t be dropped. But he knew there would be another chance because New Zealand needed over 10 an over and were forced to hit the ball in the air. “The focus was to try and take the pace off, see if they’re hitting it in the air,” said Shami.

Soon after he dropped Williamson, Shami was brought back for the 33rd over, and Mitchell took a single off the first ball to get to his 100; next ball, Williamson flicked Shami straight to Suryakumar Yadav at the square leg boundary — the fans, and Shami, could afford to breathe again. It wasn’t a brilliant ball, but the Kiwis were being driven to desperation by asking-rate pressure.

“Williamson and Mitchell batted brilliantly,” Rohit said. “It was important for us to stay calm. The crowd went silent, but we knew we needed a catch or run out. Shami was brilliant.”

He was, but with 397 to defend, with the Kiwis needing to be constantly on the aggressive to get at least a boundary each over and hitting the ball in the air, it was a matter of time before they panicked. They did just that — with over 100 runs needed off just over seven overs, the wickets began to tumble, the last six falling for just 32. The last six overs were to be bowled by India’s three top-class pacemen, and Shami hit the jackpot, ending up with seven wickets for 57 runs.

His accuracy, the hard lengths he bowls, particularly the ball zeroing into the wickets from the fourth-wicket line, has confounded batsmen. “We talk a lot about variations, but I still believe in pitching it up and getting wickets with the new ball,” said the paceman who wasn’t part of India’s Plan A a month ago, and squeezed in only due to the injury to Hardik Pandya. He’s picked up 23 wickets in six matches since, average an unbelievable 9.13 runs per wicket.

Shami has become the quickest to 50 wickets in the World Cup — he has 54 wickets in 17 World Cup matches, averaging an incredible 12.90. He was playing his 100th ODI last night, and he made it memorable for himself — and the crowd, giving it a heart-stopping moment before helping it find its voice.