Mohammed Shami on hat-trick: Mahi bhai said, 'Bowl a yorker'

Mohammed Shami

Hattrick hero Mohammed Shami has revealed that he had no second thoughts about what deliveries he has to bowl in the final over after Mahendra Singh Dhoni instructed him to bowl yorkers. Shami went on to take a hattrick and win the match for India by 11 runs.

Mohammed Shami is only the second Indian bowler to take a hattrick in the World Cup after former Indian bowler Chetan Sharma's hattrick in the 1987 World Cup.

"The plan was simple. To bowl, a yorker and even Mahi bhai suggested that. He said, 'Don't change anything now as you have a great chance of getting a hat-trick. It's a rare opportunity and you need to do the same thing. So I did what exactly I was told," Shami told reporters after returning with figures of 4 for 40.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar's left-hamstring stiffness brought Shami into the picture and the Bengal pacer accepts that it was a stroke of luck that he was in the playing XI.

"Getting a chance in the playing XI is a bit of luck. I was ready that whenever I get a chance, I will have to utilize it. As far as hat-trick is concerned, it is a rarity at least in the World Cup. I am happy," he said.

Shami said in the final over, there was no time to think and the aim was to execute the plan. "There was no time to think. You have to back your own skills as you don't have many options otherwise. If you try more variations, the chances of going for runs is more. My thought was to execute my plan rather than trying to read batsman's mind," he said.

The Indian bowlers had realized that short ball was a weapon that could be used effectively and both pacers -- Shami and Jasprit Bumrah -- did just that against Afghan batsmen.

"We didn't bowl fuller length deliveries as it was coming onto the bat well. We knew they would be circumspect against short balls. Our gameplan was simple, bowl bouncers from varying lengths," he added.

All-rounder Mohammed Nabi had threatened to take the game away with his half-century and Shami said it was important that they don't let the shoulders drop. "There was a point when Nabi's flow was irritating but it's better if you don't show your concern or irritation which the batsman would have gauged," he said.

"We shouldn't show our weakness. From the exterior, we should always show aggression. We knew that if Nabi was out, then match belongs to us. He was the only batsman who could have built their innings."
For someone, who loved his biryani, Shami's new mantra has been fitness which helped him bowl some great spells for India in Test matches last year.

"This is a long journey, maybe, around two years. Post-injury, I had put on weight and I could feel that. After one spell, I would feel tired and there would be tightness. I had surgery too. At that point in time, I could sense that if I had to continue playing cricket, I better do something extra," Shami recalled.

Team India trainer Shankar Basu in a recent interview to PTI spoke about how fitness has become Shami's lifestyle.
Even the player at times fails to believe this change.

"People laugh that I follow a diet. Actually, I don't follow any strict diet but if the doctor advises on certain dietary restrictions, I try maintaining that. It is for my benefit that I don't eat sweets or wheat products (bread). It helps me only," he said.

With inputs from PTI

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