4 wickets off 4 balls: Mohammed Shami proves to be Team India's missing link vs Australia

Mohammed Shami featured in India’s T20I squad for the first time in a year as he took the field for India in a warm-up game against Australia, ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. Three days after being announced as the replacement of Jasprit Bumrah in India’s 15-member World Cup squad, Shami proved his worth as a pacer on Monday. Despite bowling only one over in the warm-up match, Shami illustrated his prowesses with the ball as he returned with the figures of 1-0-4-3.

Shami's stunning last-over wins match for India

Chasing the target of 187 runs, Australia stood at 176/6 in 19 overs, before captain Rohit Sharma called Shami to bowl the final over. After getting hit for two doubles in the first two balls, a stunning one-handed catch from Virat Kohli at long-on gave the pacer his first breakthrough. Coming out to bat at no. eight, Ashton Agar returned to the dugout following a runout in the very next ball. 

Australia - 176/6 to 180/10 in Mohammed Shami's over

Adding to the celebration, Shami removed Josh Inglis in the fifth ball to complete the team hat trick. The speedster helped India claim victory by six runs after bowling out Kane Richardson on a golden duck in the final ball of the over. The fact that Shami wasn’t even named in India’s squad a week ago and his performance on Sunday accurately displays why the team management roped him into the squad. 

Earlier in the day, Shami took to his official Twitter handle and shared his feelings on playing the T20 World Cup for India. “It required a lot of hard work, commitment and dedication to be back but the journey to Australia has been thoroughly rewarding. No better feeling than to be back with #TeamIndia and my boys. Looking forward to the World Cup,” Shami said.

In the first innings of the match, KL Rahul top-scored for the Men In Blye with a knock of 57 runs in 33 balls, which included three sixes and four sixes. Suryakumar Yadav also hit 50 off 33 as India reached 186 runs in 20 overs, at the loss of seven wickets. Kane Richardson returned with the best figures of 4/30 in four overs for Australia. 

While Shami took the maximum of three wickets for India in the thrilling second innings, Bhuvneshwar Kumar also registered two dismissals. Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, and Yuzvendra Chahal also contributed with one wicket each.