Indian batter Shreyas Iyer tipped his hat to Mohammed Shami after team’s comprehensive win of 243 runs against South Africa in the ongoing ODI World Cup 2023 at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday. Iyer said Shami is a man of action after another impressive outing from the fast bowler.
Shami continued to impress as he struck in the first over he bowled as he had Aiden Markram caught behind the wickets to KL Rahul. The fast bowler then plumbed Rassie van der Dussen in front of the wickets. Shami returned with impressive figures of 2-18 in the four overs he bowled against the Proteas.
In the ongoing ODI showpiece, Shami has scalped 16 wickets in four matches at an impressive average of seven and has an economy rate of 4.31. He is India’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament despite playing only four matches.
On the other hand, Shreyas Iyer also carried his good form as he scored a fine knock of 77 runs and added an important alliance of 134 runs with Virat Kohli. Thus, the duo played a key role in posting 326 runs on the board.
“I had this conversation with Shami once I got out that this is your wicket because he is someone who seams the ball so well. He’s got immense experience playing for India for so many years. I personally feel that he’s a calm gentleman in the dressing room. He doesn’t talk much, he’s a man of action,” said Iyer on Star Sports.
Iyer lauded Shami for being patient and capitalizing on his opportunity and also showered praise on Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for their consistent performances. While Bumrah went wicketless, Siraj got the crucial wicket of in-form Quinton de Kock.
“Whenever you look at him, you feel he’s going to do something different out there. He waits for his opportunity to come and always capitalizes on it. So that’s something that helps him a lot. Even Bumrah and Sirah have been sensational since the start,” Iyer added.
India will next take on the Netherlands at the M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru on Sunday.
