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New Delhi: Out-of-favour India fast bowler Mohammed Shami delivered another brilliant performance in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy on Thursday. The veteran seamer, who was left out of India’s T20I squad for the South Africa series, dismantled Services' batting order by taking four wickets as Bengal won the match by seven wickets in a Group C clash.
The win was Bengal’s fourth in five games and lifted the side to the top of the points table with 16 points. They are now well-placed to qualify for the knockout stages. Easwaran, who is auditioning for the December IPL mini auction, scored 58 runs off 37 balls. Abhishek Porel also amassed 56 runs from 29 deliveries, and their 93-run partnership for the second wicket made the chase of 166 runs just a formality as Bengal cruised to victory in 15.1 overs.
Shami removed Gaurav Kocchar for a duck and then dismissed Ravi Chauhan, who smashed 26 off just nine balls. Mukesh Kumar had a tough outing, conceding 53 runs in three overs, while Akash Deep picked up three wickets, and off-spinner Writtick Chatterjee also took two. Shami came back to close out the innings with two more wickets as Services bundled out for 165 in 18.2 overs. Mohit Ahlawat was the top scorer for Services with 38 runs off 22 balls.
His sensational domestic performance came at a time when India’s fast bowling options were facing heavy criticism in the ODI series against South Africa. Prasidh Krishna picked up two wickets but conceded 85 runs in the second ODI. Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh also questioned why the experienced pacer was not part of the ODI squad.
Harbhajan said that he doesn't know why Shami is not playing, and Prasidh is a good bowler, but still needs some time to learn. He further added that India have good bowlers, but the selectors have slowly sidelined them.
"With Bumrah, this is a different bowling attack, and without Bumrah, it is entirely different attack altogether. We have to learn the art of winning games without Jasprit Bumrah," Harbhajan said on his YouTube channel. Shami last featured for India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand.
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC) (subject to fitness clearance), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar.
