India stormed into the ICC World Cup 2023 final after beating New Zealand by 70 runs in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, Mohammed Shami ruled the roost with his scintillating spell, which yielded seven wickets,
The veteran pacer opened his account in the 5th over of India’s innings by removing opener Devon Conway on his very first delivery of the day. Shami then followed it up with the wicket of this competition's emerging starlet, Rachin Ravindra, in just his second over of the game.
In his second spell, the 33-year-old nabbed the all-important wickets of Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson – who was looking menacing after scoring 69 runs – and just a couple of deliveries later, made Tom Latham his fourth victim of the match.
To complete his five-wicket haul, Shami dismissed centurion Daryl Mitchell, with that wicket effectively sealing the fate of the game.
In the final over of his spell, the seasoned pacer claimed the wickets of New Zealand tailenders – Tim Southee and Lockie Ferguson – to increase his tally to seven.
With his exceptional bowling performance at the big stage, Shami not only helped the home side book a final berth but also broke multiple records in the process.
One for the Record Books
Shami now holds the best bowling figures for India in ODIs.
Shami became the first bowler to have three five-wicket hauls in a single World Cup edition.
He also equalled Mitchell Starc’s record to become the bowler with two (or more) World Cup five-fers against the same opponent.
Moved past Zaheer Khan’s record of 21 wickets to become India’s leading wicket-taker in a World Cup edition with 23 wickets to his name.
I Was Waiting for My Chances: Mohammed Shami
After his seven-wicket haul, Shami opened up on how he wanted to give everything in his tank during this encounter, after India’s underwhelming semi-final outings in 2015 and 2019.
“I was waiting for my chances. I didn't play a lot of white-ball cricket. We lost (in semis) in the last two semi-finals. Who knows when or if we'll get a chance, so I wanted to do everything. This was the one chance we did not want to let go,” he said after the match.
As Shami helped India continue their dream run with 10 consecutive victories in the tournament and sail to the finals, here's how fans & former cricketers reacted on 'X':
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