Shami bowled three overs, but looked wayward with his line and length right from the beginning. He bowled multiple wides, which was very unlike him, in the first over itself to Imam ul Haq.
The speedster also ended up delivering a few giveaway boundaries, which did not help India’s case as the team was looking to build pressure on the Pakistani batters early on.
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Shami is leading the Indian pace attack in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. He had notched a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh and also became the country’s highest-ever scalp taker in ICC events by touching the mark of 60 dismissals.
Hardik Pandya had to bowl the seventh over as the first-change pacer as Shami was not present on the field. The Men in Blue will be needing Pandya to maintain a tight line and length to curb the scoring rate.
Shami had ensured two early wickets against Bangladesh, which propelled India to a fine start. He looked rustier in his approach against Pakistan though, and his injury setback is concerning since he has only recently come back from a 14-month-long injury layoff after undergoing an ankle surgery in the aftermath of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023.
With an extra bowler in the ranks due to Axar Patel, India will not be too bothered of being found wanting of bowling options to round off the 50 overs. However, there will be an issue in the death overs if Shami continues to remain absent from the field, with Pandya and Rana being the side’s only pacers in the XI.
First Published: Feb 23, 2025 3:01 PM IST
