Southampton: Jasprit Bumrah’s economical 49th over helped ‘me to execute my plans in the final six balls of the innings’, said India pacer Mohammad Shami after he became India’s second cricketer to take a hat-trick in the World Cup.
Drafted into the playing XI following a hamstring injury to Bhuvneshwar Kumar, the Bengal pacer returned with a four-wicket haul, which included a hattrick in the last over.
“I trusted you (Bumrah) that you won’t give away a lot (in the 49th over). From inside, I believed 16 runs were enough for me. So, I got the opportunity to execute my plans,” Shami was quoted as saying by ‘BCCI.tv’. “If it had been anything less than that, then I would have found it difficult to execute plans.”
Chetan Sharma was the first Indian to take a hat-trick in the World Cup when he achieved the feat in the 1987 edition.
Shami said with every passing hour, he is realising the importance of his feat. “It is a very good feeling. Taking a hat-trick is a big thing and doing it at World Cup stage is even better,” Shami stated.
Even though it was a slow wicket at the Ageas Bowl ground, Shami said he enjoyed bowling along with Bumrah.
“The ball was seaming, so we made a good start. We gave away a bit of runs in the middle overs. But I had the belief we would pull things back in the last 10 overs,” Shami informed.
PTI
