Published: Sep 11, 2018, 08:55 AM (IST)
Edited: Sep 11, 2018, 08:55 AM (IST)
India will have their task cut out on Day Five of the fifth Test against England, at The Oval. They recovered to the relative safety of 58 for 3 after James Anderson and Stuart Broad left them reeling at 2 for 3, including the prize wicket of Virat Kohli for a golden duck. England had secured a 40-run lead in the first innings, but hundreds from Alastair Cook and Joe Root helped them post 423 for 8 in the second.
Mohammed Shami returned match figures of 2 for 182 in the Test despite looking threatening at times, beating the edge on numerous occasions and cleaning up Keaton Jennings with a beautiful delivery. His workload (and that of other Indian bowlers) had increased significantly after Ishant Sharma had to leave the field.
After the day’s play, Shami told the reporters about how the wickets tally doesn’t necessarily depend on how well one bowled on the day: “It depends on luck sometimes. As a bowler, your main target is to hit good areas consistently, especially with the new ball. Whether that yields wickets depends on luck, but it is certainly a bit frustrating… The ball beat the bat several times. But it’s fine, I’ve to accept the wickets I got.”
Shami also mentioned how leaving Hardik Pandya out for a batsman hurt India: “It is difficult when you’re one bowler short, and in these conditions you’ll have to bowl since it is fast-bowler friendly. Yes, the load increases but it’s nothing so serious. It happens, bowlers feel discomfort and as a means of preventing injury, you leave the field. We have a great understanding in the bowling group in that regard.”
However, Shami announced how useful this tour has been to him: “I’ve learnt a lot. When we had come here in 2014, we didn’t even have that much experience and we weren’t mature. This time we watched a lot of videos of Jimmy Anderson and [Stuart] Broad to see where they pitched the ball, especially in English conditions. As compared to last time, we did better this time.”
