Sensational Shami makes it seam easy

Among the pacers in action in the first semifinal of the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup played on Wednesday, New Zealand's Trent Boult has probably bowled most in tandem with India's Jasprit Bumrah at the Wankhede Stadium.

- Sanjjeev K Samyal

In a longish opening spell, one could see Boult searching for the right area. Time and again after completing his follow through, he would pause and have a good look at the surface but the spot continued to elude him. He went for 86 runs in his ten overs.

Tim Southee is an experienced campaigner who gets wickets by hitting that perfect length, but the spot eluded him too. He ended up conceding 100 runs.

Both the New Zealand opening bowlers have played over 100 games, taken more than 200 wickets each. But they realised that bowling on a flat, slow Wankhede Stadium track is a different skill altogether. It proved to be a forgettable outing. Even Bumrah couldn't get it right on the day. He was getting the movement but was unusually wayward with the new ball.

Mohammed Shami, however, proved to be the exception. The surface was different from the one on which he had got a fifer in the last game here against Sri Lanka. Tailor-made for a battle of the batters, the grass had been shaved off.

But the 33-year-old Shami still conjured up the magic to make the batters dance to his tune.

The greatest thrill of watching him operate on Wednesday was in seeing how he got the ball to gather pace after pitching the skill being in the wrist and release and finding the right spot. He hit the seam, bowled further up the wicket and got the shape on the ball.

The back-of-a-length delivery has more distance to travel than the full length to draw the batter into the shot and if the ball moves late, there's trouble.