During Match 44 of IPL 2023 between the Gujarat Titans and Delhi Capitals on Tuesday, May 2, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, India’s premier seamer Mohammed Shami was on fire. After DC captain David Warner won the toss and elected to bat first, Shami seized control of the situation and decimated the top order.
The 32-year-old’s magnificent four-over spell of 4/11 left Delhi floundering at 28/5 during the powerplay. To break the back of DC’s batting, the speedster took the valued scalps of Philip Salt (0), Rilee Rossouw (8), Manish Pandey (1), and Priyam Garg (10). During the innings break, the fast bowler quipped to former India cricketer Murali Karthik that he had run out of steam after his breathtaking spell. In addition, he stated that he practices extensively prior to the season and attempts to comprehend how the fields operate.
“Before the season, we engage in extensive preparation, learning how the pitches respond and which lengths to bowl. I am simply adhering to the arrangements. My responsibility is to attack and take wickets, and if we can take early wickets, it will be a tremendous advantage for the team. There is no excessive motion or seam; consider the total achievable.
Notably, these were the best figures of Shami’s IPL career, and the seamer now retains the record for best bowling figures in GT’s brief IPL history. In addition, his 4/11 is the second-best bowling figure in IPL 2023 behind Mark Wood’s 5/14 against DC earlier in the competition.
Despite Mohammed Shami valiant efforts, Gujarat lost by five runs.
As a result of Shami’s bowling, Gujarat were able to regain control of the game and restrict DC to a meager 130 runs in their first inning. Aman Hakim Khan scored 51 runs off 44 deliveries to save his team from danger.
In response, GT endured a dramatic collapse for the first time this season as they were reduced to 32/4 after 6.4 overs. Hardik Pandya (59* off 53), Abhinav Manohar (26 off 33), and Rahul Tewatia (20 off 7) did their utmost to lead their team to victory.
However, DC’s precise bowling ultimately prevailed and they lost the game by five runs. Khaleel Ahmed (2/24), Ishant Sharma (2/23) and Kuldeep Yadav (1/15) gave their all on the field to help their team earn its third victory of the season. Shami was named ‘Player of the Match’ despite the fact that his team lost the game.
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