Centurion: South Africa batter Temba Bavuma has said that Mohammed Shami is a world-class bowler, and India was able to exploit the conditions really well on Day 3 of the ongoing first Test here at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. India might have lost Mayank Agarwal’s at the cusp of the stumps but the visitors still ended Day Three of the first Test against South Africa in the driver’s seat on Tuesday.Shami is a world-class bowler, we have seen him do it around the world so I do not think it is something we did not expect. As batters we have to front up and back our defence as much as we can. If he bowls a good ball, credit to him. Indian bowlers were able to exploit the conditions, especially led by Shami. We want to cut out the soft dismissals, Bavuma said during a virtual press conference. India had bundled out South Africa for 197 in the third session before the hosts lost Mayank’s wicket minutes before the end of the play. Shardul Thakur, KL Rahul then took India to 16/1 at stumps with a lead of 146 runs.
I do not want to be accused of making excuses for our play but not playing Test cricket for a while does have an impact. If you look at the way we played on the first day, I do not believe that is the standard and the intensity that we can play at. And one of the factors is the lack of match practice. You can have as many nets as you want, but nothing simulates going out in the middle, said Bavuma. There is not much we can do as players, but there is that disparity in the number of games. We have to find a way mentally to meet the challenge, he added.
Shami took a five-wicket haul in the ongoing first Test against South Africa here at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. Along the way, the pacer also completed 200 wickets in the longest format of the game.
Mohammed Shami on Tuesday achieved the milestone of 200 Test wickets after removing Kagiso Rabada on Day 3 of the first Test against South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Tuesday. The 31-year-old pacer is third-fastest among Indian pacers to reach the landmark, achieving it in his 55th Test match.
Rabada’s wicket was also Shami’s fifth of the innings. He is the 11th Indian bowler to pick up 200 or more wickets and only the fifth fast bowler to reach the milestone. Shami is only behind Kapil Dev (434), Ishant Sharma (311), Zaheer Khan (311), and Javagal Srinath (236), at the moment.
Displaying his superlative bowling, Shami celebrated the milestone by getting his 6th five-wicket haul in Tests. Shami ran through the South Africa top-order, getting the wickets of Keegan Petersen and Aiden Markram before returning to get a well-set Temba Bavuma.