KALYANI: Delhi coach Vijay Dahiya wanted his boys to live up to the opportunity of facing ‘almost’ an Indian pace attack against Bengal, featuring Mohammed Shami, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar. However, Delhi failed miserably in that exercise and were bowled out for just 240 on Day 1 of the Ranji Trophy Elite Group ‘C’ clash at the Bengal Cricket Academy ground here on Sunday.
The Bengal pace trio shared seven of those 10 wickets after Bengal skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran won the toss and had no hesitations in electing to field first. Offspinner Aamir Gani was also among wickets, returning with 3 for 45. Shami led the pack picking up 4 for 30, while Akash Deep got 2 for 74 and Mukesh 1 for 43.
Talks about the possibility of Shami making a comeback to the national team gained steam after veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar was drafted into the India T20I side for the New Zealand series after a gap of four years. The 36-year-old Shami might not be fit as fiddle, he might not be delivering at 140 kph plus now, but he still remains as effective as ever.
Shami joined the Bengal side only a day before the match and did not get to practice with the boys.
But on Sunday, he took the new ball and made it talk. He spread his 17.3 overs across six spells on the day. “It was too hot and humid today and there’s no point bowling long spells on this wicket which was on the slower side. I planned going for three-four overs at a stretch, because you should also conserve energy and stay prepared in case a partnership happens,” Shami said of his plans at the end of day’s play.
He picked up a wicket each in his second, fourth, fifth and sixth spells. Except for the fourth spell when Shami fired five overs, all his other spells were of three-overseach before he wrapped up the innings picking up Delhi’s highest scorer Hritik Shokeen (56) caught by Sudip Chatterjee in the first slip on the third delivery of his last spell. Asked about his ability to move the ball both ways, Shami said, “it’s difficult to explain. You can say it’s my natural strength and you have to be smart enough to utilise it effectively.”
The veteran pacer felt Bhuvneshwar’s comeback should have happened earlier. “If someone is doing the hard work and delivering, then why should he be deprived of showing his skills to the world?”
So does he see his time coming? “I have stopped talking about my chances. But yes, I cannot stop enjoying my bowling,” he signed off.
Brief scores:
The Bengal pace trio shared seven of those 10 wickets after Bengal skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran won the toss and had no hesitations in electing to field first. Offspinner Aamir Gani was also among wickets, returning with 3 for 45. Shami led the pack picking up 4 for 30, while Akash Deep got 2 for 74 and Mukesh 1 for 43.
Talks about the possibility of Shami making a comeback to the national team gained steam after veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar was drafted into the India T20I side for the New Zealand series after a gap of four years. The 36-year-old Shami might not be fit as fiddle, he might not be delivering at 140 kph plus now, but he still remains as effective as ever.
Shami joined the Bengal side only a day before the match and did not get to practice with the boys.
But on Sunday, he took the new ball and made it talk. He spread his 17.3 overs across six spells on the day. “It was too hot and humid today and there’s no point bowling long spells on this wicket which was on the slower side. I planned going for three-four overs at a stretch, because you should also conserve energy and stay prepared in case a partnership happens,” Shami said of his plans at the end of day’s play.
He picked up a wicket each in his second, fourth, fifth and sixth spells. Except for the fourth spell when Shami fired five overs, all his other spells were of three-overseach before he wrapped up the innings picking up Delhi’s highest scorer Hritik Shokeen (56) caught by Sudip Chatterjee in the first slip on the third delivery of his last spell. Asked about his ability to move the ball both ways, Shami said, “it’s difficult to explain. You can say it’s my natural strength and you have to be smart enough to utilise it effectively.”
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The veteran pacer felt Bhuvneshwar’s comeback should have happened earlier. “If someone is doing the hard work and delivering, then why should he be deprived of showing his skills to the world?”
So does he see his time coming? “I have stopped talking about my chances. But yes, I cannot stop enjoying my bowling,” he signed off.
Brief scores:
- Delhi: 240 all out in 77.3 overs (Hrithik Shokeen 56, Ayush Doseja 45, Sarthak Ranjan 33; Mohammed Shami 4-30, Aamir Gani 3-45) vs Bengal.