Mohammad Shami bowls like a leopard going for kill, proclaims Sunil Gavaskar
Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has held pacer Mohammad Shami as ferocious as a “leopard going for a kill” looking at his form at the moment. The seasoned paceman is amongst the top 10 in world Test rankings for bowlers after the conclusion of the first encounter between India and Bangladesh.
As India steamrolled over the visitors in the first Test match at Indore, Shami bagged seven wickets - four in the 3rd innings- and aced the pace attack of the home team. Opener Mayank Agarwal scored his second double hundred, and along with Shami was one of the standout stars in India's innings-and-130-run win.
With the win, Shami moved up eight spots in the ICC Test rankings to the seventh position, which is three positions below Jasprit Bumrah and three spots above Ravichandran Ashwin- who is at No. 10.
Veteran opener Sunil Gavaskar was all praises for the paceman and compared his run up to a leopard’s ferocious run, going for the kill.
"When he is running in. When the spider cam actually takes it, it is such a sight. It is almost like a leopard going for a kill," Gavaskar was quoted as saying by TimesNow.
Gavaskar further heaped praise on the 29-year-old’s technical expertise that he has achieved after having practised for years.
"His seam position and wrist position is so good. The last-minute little flick of one finger to get the ball away and the last-minute flick of the index finger to get the ball in. Amazing. This is a skill that he has practised," he added.
Having won the Indore Test, the hosts have gone 1-0 up in the series. India will eye a whitewash moving into the second fixture at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, which will also be their first-ever day-night Test match.