IND vs NZ: Record-breaking Mohammed Shami too hot for New Zealand after warming bench in first four games

Add as a preferred source on Google

IND vs NZ: Hardik Pandya's injury promoted two changes for India on Sunday against New Zealand. Mohammed Shami replaced Sharduk Thakur to walk in as a specialist bowler, and Suryakumar Yadav also found a place to give strength to India's batting in absence of the star all-rounder.

Mohammed Shami did not take long to announce his arrival in the World Cup 2023. The pacer struck on the first ball of his first over to get rid of Will Young and go past Anil Kumble's tally of 31 wickets for India in the World Cups.

Shami later picked four more wickets in the match to take his tally of World Cup wickets to 36 and stands a great chance to get past Javagal Srinath and Zaheer Khan's tally of 44 wickets each if he gets to play a few more matches in the ongoing tournament.

The 33-year-old now has two five-wicket hauls in his last three ODI matches. Shami did the most difficult job of patiently warming the bench for four matches before getting an injury-enforced opportunity at the pace-friendly HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala.

Shami came out hungry and that's the case with all the premier pacers. The more you make them sit out, the more dangerous they become. Shami could have got his next wicket in his second over itself but an unexpected dropped catch from Ravindra Jadeja gave Rachin Ravindra a reprieve.

Ravindra made India pay and forged a 159-run partnership for the third wicket with centurion Daryl Mitchell. Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and all the other players in the field looked under the pump for the first time while bowling in the World Cup 2023.

But the Amroha-born pacer came to the rescue again and dismissed Ravindra (75) to open a window of opportunity for India. In his final spell, Shami got rid of Mitchell Santner and Matt Henry on successive deliveries - both clean bowled. The celebration after uprooting the stumps of Henry was wild.

Like Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami has an air of lazy elegance around him. He looks really calm but once he starts operating with the ball, there are a very few as crafty as him. The aggression of a fast bowler takes over.

Shami completed his five-wicket haul by getting the wicket of Daryl Mitchell (130) on the penultimate ball of the match. Shami already has a World Cup hat-trick to his name and he is now the first bowler from India to have two five-fers in the marquee event.

New Zealand, who were once cruising at 178/2 in 33.2 overs, were bundled out for 272 in 50 overs. The comeback of Hardik Pandya could prompt India to to move to their old template but Shami's match-winning performance will keep them tempted for sure.