India fast bowler Mohammed Shami had some fun at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday as he once again picked up a five-wicket haul in the Men in Blue's crushing 302-run victory over Sri Lanka in Match 33 of the ICC World Cup 2023.
Shami bagged his second five-for of this campaign and third overall to become the second bowler after Mitchell Starc to achieve the feat in World Cup history. It was also his fourth ODI five-for, which is the highest for an Indian bowler in the format.
His figures of 5 for 18 from five overs helped India bowl out Sri Lanka for 55 after posting a mammoth 357 for 8 on the board at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
After reaching the milestone, Shami turned towards the Indian team dressing room and made a funny gesture which kept everyone guessing until Shubman Gill revealed the secret.
.jpg)
"Shami's gesture was for our bowling coach that's because he doesn't have any hair on his head," Gill revealed on Star Sports.
Shami also went past Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath to become India's highest wicket-taker in ODI World Cups with 45 scalps from 14 innings. Both Zaheer and Srinath had 44 wickets in during their playing careers.
Indian juggernaut rolls on
India meanwhile, resgistered their seventh win on the trot to become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals in this World Cup.
Shubman Gill (92), Virat Kohli (88), Shreyas Iyer (82) and Mohammed Shami (5/18) led India's charge as they completely dominated the proceedings in both innings.
"Our bowling is in good shape and with the kind of rhythm (talking about the form of the pacers) that we are in, everyone is enjoying and everyone is happy for each other's success and more importantly, we are bowling as a unit and that's the result you are getting to see," Shami said after picking up his second Player of the Match award in this tournament.
