Credit: Twitter
Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami dedicated his five-wicket haul against Sri Lanka to Indian bowling coach Paras Mhambrey in the ICC ODI World Cup 2023. Batting first, the Men in Blue posted a massive 357 runs with big half-centuries from Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer.
Then with the ball, the Indian pacers lit up Wankhede Stadium and bundled out the Lankans for a score of 55. Shami was the key architect of this demolition as he picked up 5 - 18 whereas Siraj ended up with three wickets. While Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja picked up one wicket each. Coming back to Shami, as he completed his fifer, he signalled to the dressing room and gestured to the bowling coach.
Watch t he video here:
Talking about this gesture, Indian batter Shubman Gill, confirmed Shami's celebration in the post-match interview. He talked about how the wicket performed and his mindset in this inning. Then towards the end of the interview, he revealed that the gesture was towards the bowling coaching.
Gill said, "Honestly, the discussion was to play in a compact manner. The oddball was seaming. Hit the balls in our areas. You couldn’t get into a shell. Looked to put the pressure on the bowlers. I felt in the previous matches I got starts except the last one. Sometimes you play a good shot and it goes to the fielder. We thought about rotating the strike today. I honestly don’t think it was a 400-wicket. We batted well to get 350. Shreyas was the key today. He batted superbly. That’s our bowling coach he (Shami) was gesturing."
He also spoke about the Indian bowling throughout the tournament and shared that their efforts have made many games easier for the other players. He said, "The way they were bowling we were anticipating wickets. Siraj is always fired up. They were sensational. Has made job easier for us. I am the kind of person who doesn’t get nervous. I look to tackle it my own way at the start. Not full fitness. I am four kilos down from dengue in terms of mass and muscle weight."
