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Indian pace veteran Mohammed Shami delivered an impressive spell during his return to competitive cricket, taking four wickets for Bengal during his side's Ranji Trophy Group C match against Madhya Pradesh on Thursday.
Madhya Pradesh was skittled out for 161 runs in reply to Bengal's total of 228 runs in the first innings, Shami took 4/54 in 19 overs, also delivering four maiden overs. His economy rate was 2.84. Shami got scalps of MP skipper Shubham Sharma and then cleared the tail-end by removing Saransh Jain, Kumar Kartikeya and Kulwant Khejroliya. Earlier, MP won the toss and elected to field first and Bengal put up a score of 228 runs, with Shahbaz Ahmed top-scoring with 92 in 80 balls, with 16 fours and a six. Aryan Pandey (4/47) and Kulwant Khejroliya (4/84) were the top bowlers for MP. In their first innings, MP was skittled out for 161 runs, with Subhranshu Senapati (47 in 121 balls, with six fours) and Rajat Patidar (41 in 59 balls, with eight fours) being the top scorers. Besides Shami, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Kaif (two wickets each) and Rohit Kumar (one wicket) were among the wickets for Bengal as they gained a 67-run lead. Here is a look at Shami's spell: https://x.com/BCCIdomestic/status/1856995269919088825 Following the end of the ODI World Cup 2023, the India pacer suffered an ankle injury, which forced him to stay away from the field since November last year. The right-arm seamer was also not considered for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. Shami, who set the WC 2023 on fire by becoming the leading wicket-taker, taking 24 wickets in just seven matches at an average of 10.70 with three five-wicket hauls, had his best figures of 7/57 against New Zealand in the semifinals. After India's heart-breaking loss to Australia, Men in Blue redeemed themselves with the ICC T20 World Cup win in the Caribbean by beating South Africa by seven runs, however, the pacer could not be a part of this redemption tale and had to watch from the sidelines. With his return to domestic cricket, Shami will be eyeing a comeback to the Indian Cricket Team ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy and also in franchise cricket, Indian Premier League in 2025. If included in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad later, Shami's return would be a huge boost to India, which is taking quite an inexperienced bowling group Down Under, with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj leading the attack alongside a newer crop of pacers like Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and Akash Deep. Shami has a fine record in Australia, taking 31 wickets in eight Tests at an average of 32.16, with best figures of 6/56. (ANI)
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