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India's seasoned seamer Mohammed Shami lived up to his title of 'Mr ICC' and took another step towards extending his era of dominance in the ODI marquee events with a scorching spell on Wednesday.
Shami flexed his clinical record in ICC ODI knockout matches in the pulsating Champions Trophy semi-final clash between India and Australia, two cricketing behemoths. He became the third-highest wicket-taker for India after his searing spell rocked Australia and forced the Baggy Greens to bundle out on 264. With another clinical outing, Shami returned with figures of 3/48, taking his tally to 13 scalps in five ICC ODI knockout matches at a staggering average of 19.76. Former left-arm speed gun Zaheer Khan holds the record for scything most scalps for India in ICC ODI knockout games. In 11 matches, Zaheer bagged 17 wickets at an average of 28.64. 'Master Blaster' Sachin Tendulkar firmly holds the second spot with 15 wickets in as many matches at an average of 26.66. Former ball tweaker Harbhajan Singh slipped to the fourth spot, boasting 11 scalps while averaging 29.27. In the high-stakes semi-final encounter, Shami drew the first blood by dismissing youngster Cooper Connolly for a nine-ball duck after fumbling the chance to dismiss Travis Head. He maintained his sublime form against Australia captain Steve Smith and cleaned up his stumps on 73(96). Shami capped off his impressive spell with Nathan Ellis's scalp. In ODIs, Shami has dismissed Smith five times and split 123 runs at an average of 24.60. Besides Smith's valiancy, Alex Carey provided an indispensable 61 to propel Australia to a fighting total of 264. His impressive knock was laced with eight fours and a towering maximum. Apart from Shami, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy (2/49) and left-armer Ravindra Jadeja (2/40) also trapped Australian batters in their spin web. Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya chipped in with a wicket each. (ANI)
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