New Delhi, Sep 23: Harbhajan Singh showered praise on Mohammed Shami after his historic five-wicket haul against Australia during the first ODI in Mohali on Friday. Shami achieved his career-best performance by taking five wickets for just 51 runs, a feat that has not been accomplished by any Indian pacer at home, since Zaheer Khan, in 2007.
“Mohammed Shami was brilliant once again. Just look at that seam position, so straight. I don’t think anyone in world cricket at the moment would have a seam position as good as Shami. Indian cricket is lucky to be in a stage where you have Bumrah, Siraj, too, who can bowl 150 kmph and also win the game on their day,” said Harbhajan Singh on his YouTube channel.
This was Shami’s second five-wicket haul in ODIs and it boosted his tally to 37 wickets in ODIs between India and Australia, making him the second-highest Indian wicket-taker against Australia surpassing (Ajit Agarkar 36 wickets) in this format, only after Kapil Dev who has 45 wickets.
Harbhajan applauded Shami for his exceptional performance and wished him luck for the World Cup, he also mentioned that Shami’s spell was brilliant on a pitch that is batter paradise.
“Taking five wickets is no mean feat, especially in Mohali where the pitch is always a batting paradise. This is brilliant for Indian cricket because Shami was the one who hadn’t played enough and now that he has played, he has performed brilliantly.”
India’s five-wicket victory over Australia helped them maintain their No. 1 ODI position, and his five-wicket haul was a key factor in that win. Along with Ajit Agarkar and Kapil Dev, Shami now joins a select group of Indian pacers who have taken five wickets or more in an ODI match against Australia.
However, on native turf, Shami is the first person to taste this accomplishment.
IANS
