Mohammed Shami: “This one chance we didn’t want to let go” during India vs. New Zealand

Mohammed Shami: “This one chance we didn’t want to let go” during India vs. New Zealand. David Beckham would have been proud of the bend, watching from the grandstand.

After emerging from Mohammed Shami’s hand, the ball started to travel slightly beyond the off-stump. Suddenly, without any prior notice, it began to plunge in.

After only two minutes on the field, Tom Latham was defeated. The batsman’s pad was struck by the ball. Nobody waited for the umpire to raise his finger—not even the batter.

The wicket halted any chance of a comeback by New Zealand and set India on pace for what ultimately proved to be a convincing 70-run victory in the World Cup semi-final.

The wicket had the anxious stadium back on its feet. They will now play in Sunday’s Ahmedabad final against the victor of Australia vs. South Africa’s second semi-final.

With seven wickets at the end, Shami broke numerous records. Similar to Virat Kohli, who made history earlier in the day by becoming the first Indian to score 50 ODI hundreds, the bowler who unexpectedly entered the playing 11 as a replacement due to injury also became the first Indian bowler to claim 50 World Cup wickets.

The bowler’s half-century was achieved in the shortest amount of innings—just 17—in the history of the competition. His final World Cup stats of 7/57 are the greatest by an Indian.

Utilizing X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi commended India’s semifinal hero. Cricket enthusiasts will remember @MdShami11’s bowling in this match and the World Cup for many years to come. Excellent work, Shami.

Shami and his teammates, though, had a moment during the match when they questioned whether they would make the Mumbai-Ahmedabad trip for the championship. Similar to the approximately 30,000 spectators in the stands, which included celebrities from Bollywood, the pacer also started to worry about India losing in the World Cup semifinals for the third time in a row.

In what was his team’s first genuine test of the World Cup, skipper Rohit Sharma turned to his crisis man, more out of sheer desperation to end a dangerous partnership than anything else.

It was the game’s thirty-third over. A team that frequently punches above its weight, New Zealand was doing what they do best, chasing down a massive target of 398 and forcing another heavyweight to the ropes in a quiet, unobtrusive fashion.

To put it gently, the field workers, who had been immaculate thus far, lacked polish. Ravindra Jadeja was receiving verbal abuse from Rohit for an uncalled for overthrow that cost four more runs. Afterwards, after letting the ball escape his grasp, the skipper himself gave an embarrassed glance around.

Williamson had a chance to be run out by K L Rahul, but he removed the bails before the ball reached the stumps, providing the batsman with an escape route. After Shami missed a sitter at number 52, the skipper of New Zealand had another life.

The audience had been stunned into silence by Mitchell and Williamson. The frustration was heightened by the mishandled catches and failed run-outs. Had India lost its fortunes? Was the one unbeaten team in the tournament being caught up by the law of averages?

Normally, the crowd feeds Team India, and vice versa. Both were left questioning their heads as New Zealand reduced the run chase to T20 levels with eight wickets remaining in the final 20 overs.