One small mistake bowling at the death and you get hit: Mohammed Shami

It is hard to remember a time when bowling at the death in limited overs cricket wasn’t a problem for India. In practically every post-match press conference, captain MS Dhoni reiterates that India needs to get its bowling right in the final stages of the game. The one bowler who has shown the potential to solve that problem is Mohammed Shami. Since the tour of England, Shami has impressed with his bowling in the latter stages of ODIs and Dhoni has been happy to toss the ball to the 24-year-old in the last 10 overs. [caption id=“attachment_1756339” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Mohammed Shami took a career best 4 for 36 in the 2nd ODI against West Indies. BCCI[/caption] In the second ODI against West Indies, Shami took a career best 4 for 36 while playing a crucial role in West Indies’ collapse from 170 for 2 to 215 all out. In an interview with the BCCI’s website, Shami said he has been trying out different tricks to get his yorkers right. “I work hard at the nets to be ready for certain situations. During our practice sessions, we as bowlers mark certain areas to bowl at. While bowling at the practice sessions we keep shoes in front of the stumps and try to perfect our yorkers. It is something that really helps us to get the yorker right during the match and I believe we have been trying to get it right. I feel the yorkers are the most important thing for a bowler to have in his armoury if he has to get better while bowling at the death.” Shami acknowledges the fact that it’s really difficult to bowl at the death and that a bowler needs to be focused and accurate with his plans as a small mistake can spell doom. “The thing about death bowling is that you have to be very clear and accurate with your plans. One small mistake while bowling at the death and you get hit for runs. As a bowler the focus is always on giving less width for the batsmen to hit. You have to use your mind while bowling under those circumstances. You have to figure out what kind of shots the batsmen are going to play and work your plans according to it.” One of Shami’s greatest assets is the ability to get reverse swing, which often proves devastating when batsmen are trying to score quick runs. “Also reverse swing holds key. If a bowler gets good reverse swing then he can always put the batsmen in a spot of bother. It is not easy to pick the reverse swing and it is fun when you get your reverse swing right. I don’t find it too difficult to bowl at the death because I know for a fact that the less mistakes I make the better it will be for me. " Shami’s performance in the second ODI showed how lethal he can be. But he can also can fluff his lines and lengths in search of those same yorkers. If his efforts in the nets allow him to be more consistent in executing his plans in the end overs, India will finally have a bowler Dhoni can toss the ball to without worrying about which part of the ground he might have to fetch it from. You can read the full interview here.