Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) pacer Mohammed Shami gave a testament to his sheer bowling abilities by bowling an incredible spell during their previous encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL 2026). Shami removed the explosive SRH opening duo of Abhishek Sharma and Travis Head for duck and seven, respectively, single-handedly and finished his quota of four overs with stellar figures of 2/9.
Interestingly, of his 24 balls, Shami had bowled a total of 18 dot-balls – an unbelievable stat for a bowler to have in modern-day T20 cricket. Shami, who has fallen out of favour in the Indian setup, once again sparked speculations of a comeback with the heroic display.
Heaping plaudits on Mohammed Shami, LSG spin bowling coach Carl Crowe has now revealed that the delivery which dismissed Abhishek was developed just ‘four days’ before the contest.
Speaking on the eve of their upcoming match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on April 9, Crowe said,
“Would you believe Bharat (Arun) and Shami worked on a new ball four days before the game, and Shami bowled that ball to dismiss Abhishek.”
He added, “So, I think lots of us out there young cricketers and old cricketers are never too old to learn a new skill,” Crowe continued, “and the fact that in four days they learned that new skill, delivered that ball and got Abhishek out, I think it’s testament to not only Bharat, his coaching, but also Mohammed Shami’s mindset that, as a senior player, he’s still very willing to develop new skills, trying to push his game.”
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For the people who have seen the dismissal, they have witnessed the sheer mastery and brilliance of the man. For those who haven’t, here’s what happened.
The delivery Mohammed Shami used was a slower outside off delivery. However, prior to the wicket-taking ball, Shami had altered his field setting twice in the over.
First, he moved the deep third man to deep point, before surprising the batter with a yorker on the leg-stump line.
Then on the final ball, he removed the first slip and added another fielder on the off side hinting width. Shami then bowled a slower cutter wide of the left-hander, inducing an early drive that resulted in a thick outside edge, which was caught by M Siddharth at short third man.
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