India vs England, World Cup 2023: How Mohammed Shami bamboozled Ben Stokes in a space of 10 deliveries

Mohammed Shami showed his haul of 5/54 against New Zealand in Dharamsala wasn’t really a one-off, following it up with 4 for 22 against England on Sunday that helped India collect their sixth consecutive win in the 2023 ICC World Cup. World Cup 2023: News | Schedule | Results | Points table India had posted what initially appeared to be a sub-par total after being asked to bat for the first time in the ongoing tournament. Thanks primarily to skipper Rohit Sharma’s 87 along with vital contributions from Suryakumar Yadav (49) and KL Rahul (39), the Men in Blue finished on 229/9. India, however, needed a strong start with the ball, preferrably two-three wickets inside the powerplay. Jasprit Bumrah delivered just that by dismissing Dawid Malan and Joe Root in successive deliveries after the Englishmen got off to a promising start.

Mohammed Shami would then coming in, replacing Mohammed Siraj who had been wayward in his first two overs, leaking 18 runs, and immediately got to task against all-rounder Ben Stokes, who only recently had returned from injury and was looking for a big score to justify him coming out of ODI retirement for the World Cup. Read | Shami shows he's more than just a replacement with fiery spell in Lucknow Stokes was on strike for the first time in the third delivery of Shami’s first over, and from there on, would face fast bowling of the highest calibre and as good a spell as any that we have witnessed so far in the ongoing World Cup. Shami showed remarkable consistency in targeting the channel outside the off stump, occasionally testing the batter with deliveries that nipped away slightly. The all-rounder would get increasingly anxious to open his account, and would end up getting his stumps rattled while looking to smash the ball towards the fence — with Shami picking precisely that moment to introduce a little variation and catch him off guard. Here’s a detailed look at Shami’s 10-ball ‘Spell from Hell’ to Stokes: 5.3 Overs: Shami starts off with a short-of-length inswinger that pitches along the fifth stump line that Stokes decides to shoulder his arms to. 5.4 Overs: Similar line and length from Shami, and Stokes misses after taking a couple of steps down the track. Shami’s able to generate some late movement to beat Stokes’ blade. 5.5 Overs: Another short-of-length ball outside off, and once again the ball narrowly misses the outside edge of Stokes’ blade. The all-rounder looks to cut this one and misses yet again. 6 Overs: Short-of-length once again, this time angling in and hitting Stokes on the thigh pad in front of leg. Another dot ball. 7.1 Overs: Shami continues with two slips in place. Another short-of-length delivery from him that nearly kisses Stokes’ outside edge, this time straightening after pitching along the fifth stump. Shami offers Stokes a wry smile with his hands on his head. “This is brilliant bowling,” goes commentator Ravi Shastri on air. 7.2 Overs: Slightly fuller from Shami just outside off, a delivery that would have been the perfect one for Stokes to get off the mark. The southpaw attempts to smash the ball through extra cover, but barely gets any timing on the shot to clear the circle. 7.3 Overs: Slightly shorter from Shami, once again outside off. Stokes times his punch a lot better, but once again cannot clear the in-field. He would have been starting to get impatient at this point. 7.4 Overs: Another back-of-length outswinger from Shami, who was hoping to catch Stokes by surprise. Stokes shapes for a block, and the ball once again misses the outside edge. Throughout his spell, Shami manages to maintain a consistent upright seam position. 7.5 Overs: Full from Shami, a near yorker-length delivery along the leg stump. Stokes drives this towards mid-on, only to get intercepted. He hasn’t opened his account in nine deliveries, and the nerves would be starting to get the better of him at this stage. 8 Overs: Stokes decides he’s had enough at this point, and makes room while clearing his front leg to go inside out over extra cover/mid-off. Shami pounces on the opportunity and fires one at the stumps. The ball stays lower than what Stokes had expected, perhaps skidding through a bit, and crashes into the stumps as England lose their third wicket! Watch Shami’s mini-spell to Stokes here:

Shami would go on to dismiss Jonny Bairstow in his very next delivery, albeit in a different over, with the opening batter getting a bat-thigh pad deflection onto the off stump, resulting in England slumping to 39/4 in the powerplay from 30 for no loss. It was just the start that that Rohit and Co needed in their defence of the modest total, and managed to tick an important box off ahead of the knockout stage of the showpiece event. Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja would carry on from where Bumrah and Shami left off, maintaining a stranglehold on the English middle order. Read | Rohit Sharma hails India for showing ‘lot of character’ against England Kuldeep would grab two wickets, including a beauty to dismiss skipper Jos Buttler that was reminiscent of his dismissal of Babar Azam in the 2019 World Cup. Shami and Bumrah would then clean up the tail later in the innings, with the former finishing with stellar figures of 4/22 which was the standout performance of the day alongside Rohit Sharma’s 87.