India fast bowlers Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj put on display a spectacle with two new balls in the ongoing second ODI against New Zealand at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium today.
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Shami and Siraj, who not only bowled with optimum control but also made the ball talk via seam and swing, benefited from the same in the first powerplay. Bowling against a top-order capable of coping with both similar conditions and fast bowlers, Shami and Siraj pinned down the visitors on this particular occasion to defend captain Rohit Sharma’s decision of electing to bowl first after winning the toss.
It was only on the fifth ball of the over when Shami deceived opening batter Finn Allen (0). Having bowled three outswingers in a row, Shami made the ball to come in to the batter to castle his stumps after it hit his pads.
Siraj struck for the first time in his third over when Henry Nicholls (2) registered a typical dismissal at the first slip. Poking at a delivery outside the off-stump, all the left-handed batter did was edge it to Shubman Gill at first slip.
In the next over, New Zealand batter Daryl Mitchell (1) played a Shami delivery back to him as the right-arm bowler grabbed a praiseworthy reflex catch. Mitchell’s tactics of walking a bit to counter the swing didn’t work in his case today.
Harsha Bhogle in awe of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj’s heroics in Raipur ODI
One of the commentators for Star Sports in this series, Harsha Bhogle took to social media platform Twitter to express awe of both Shami and Siraj. Quite an admirer of the two for valid reasons, Bhogle observed how the duo troubled the opposition’s batters on Saturday.
If you love seam and swing, this is the kind of bowling to drool over. #Shami #Siraj
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 21, 2023
With both Shami and Siraj bowling a maiden over each in their first individual spells, readers must note that all New Zealand had scored before Sharma made the first bowling change was 10/3 in eight overs. While Shami had conceded only four runs in his first four overs, Siraj had conceded a run extra in the same number of overs.
