The entire match on Saturday between India and Afghanistan bucked the script.
For India, it meant making most of a toss won and piling up a huge score.
That never happened as it finished its innings at 224 -- its lowest total in the ongoing cricket world cup.
After that shock, came the shock of resistance from Afghanistan, which stayed in the hunt till the 47th over.
Even the last over bowled by Mohammed Shami began with a boundary.
But then, within the space of three balls Afghanistan’s brave fight ended in a heartbreak.
As if the edge-of-the-seat, nail biting match wasn’t enough, Shami’s hat-trick to seal the deal had the delirious Indian fans on their feet.
It took 32 years for an Indian to take a hat-trick in the World Cup.
Chetan Sharma's hat-trick in the World Cup in 1987 against New Zealand was the first by an Indian in World Cup.
“As far as chance to be in the playing XI is concerned, its all about luck. I was waiting for my chance to perform in a match and show my skill. I am really thankful to Allah that I was able to get a hat-trick. Its very rare that you get one in a WC so very happy,” Shami said in a media interaction post match.
Asked how he executed his three wicket-taking deliveries, he said that there was hardly any time to think.
All he wanted to do was keep things simple. “There is no time to think. You have to defend 16 runs in 6 balls. So all you have to do is execute your plans. Have to back yourself and your skills. You have few options because if you go with variations there are more chances of being hit for runs. So all I wanted to do was execute my plan. Mahi bhai too said not to do anything different.”
He revealed that Mohammed Nabi’s resistance in the middle with the bat was giving some frustrating moments to the Indian team.
Nabi scored 52 before being caught by Hardik Pandya off Shami -- the first of his hat-trick wickets.
“At one point, we felt the way he was playing was frustrating. But we were also conscious of the fact that we did not want to show the opposition that we were irritated. We were very clear that if we get his wicket then the match is ours. He alone was the batsman who could build his innings and score.”
Leaner and fitter, Shami has come in as the third pacer with Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar doing the honours in the first four matches at the WC.
From 2015-2017, Shami was out of the Indian team due to injuries. Notably, he was India’s highest wicket taker, scalping 17 wickets in the 2015 edition of the WC.
