Mohammad Shami’s mastery over reverse swing has been one of the big plus points for the Indian team while playing on slow, unresponsive pitches like Visakhapatnam.
On the last day of the first Test against South Africa, Shami picked up his fifth five-wicket haul in the longest format as Team India comfortably beat the visitors by 203 runs.
1-0 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳#TeamIndia win the 1st Test in Vizag by 203 runs #INDvSA @Paytm pic.twitter.com/iFvuKOXPOJ
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 6, 2019
The pacer removed Temba Bavuma (10), Faf du Plessis (13), Quinton de Kock (0), Dane Piedt (56) and Kagiso Rabada (18) to finish with figures of 5/35 in his 10.5 overs.
Shami became only the fifth Indian pacer after the likes of Madan Lal and Kapil Dev to take a five-for in the fourth innings of a Test match at home.
Here are the five Indian bowlers to have achieved the unique feat:
- Karsan Ghavri vs England, Mumbai, 1977
- Kapil Dev vs England, Mumbai, 1981
- Madan Lal vs England, Mumbai, 1981
- Javagal Srinath vs South Africa, Ahmedabad, 1996
- Mohammad Shami vs South Africa, Vizag, 2019
Also, four of Shami’s five wickets were bowled dismissals – the second time in Tests, an Indian pacer has done this. The previous time this happened was during the recent series in West Indies when Jasprit Bumrah got four wickets via bowled dismissals.
Mohammed Shami is by far India's best bowler in the second innings in recent times. The right-arm seamer has a SR of 41.4 (v 60.6 in the first innings). Of all bowlers to have bowled 300+ overs in the second innings since 2013, only three players have a lower strike rate. #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/zNZEWguQKj
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) October 6, 2019
