Mohammed Shami: First Indian pacer with this feat since 2007
Pace spearhead Mohammed Shami starred for India in the 1st ODI as they bowled Australia out for 276 at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali. Shami, who uprooted Australia's top order, took a five-wicket haul eventually, his second in the format. He has become the first Indian pacer to take an ODI fifer at home in 16 years. Here are the stats.
The pick of India's bowlers
Shami dismissed Mitchell Marsh early on to give India an edge in the match. The right-arm seamer then removed a set Steven Smith in his second spell. In his final spell, Shami dismissed Stoinis, Matthew Short, and Sean Abbott to register a five-wicket haul. Shami gave away 51 runs in 10 overs, including a maiden. He was clearly the pick of India's bowlers.
Shami enters this elite list
As mentioned, Shami has become the first Indian to take an ODI fifer at home in 16 years. Veteran bowler Zaheer Khan was the last Indian pacer to do so when he took 5/42 against Sri Lanka in 2007. Notably, Shami is only the eighth Indian pacer to take a five-wicket haul in ODIs at home (India).
A record-breaking haul for Shami
Shami now has the second-most four-plus-wicket hauls for India in ODI cricket. It was his 11th such haul in 93 innings. Former pacer Ajit Agarkar tops this list, with as many as 12 hauls.
Another record for the Indian seamers
In India's last fixture, Mohammed Siraj broke a flurry of records by taking six wickets. His 6/21 came against Sri Lanka in the 2023 Asia Cup final. As per Kausthub Gudipati, this is now only the second instance of India taking a fifer in back-to-back ODIs. Nikhil Chopra (5/21) and Sunil Joshi (5/6) first achieved this feat for India against West Indies in 1999.
Shami races to 170 ODI wickets
As mentioned, this was Shami's second five-wicket haul in the format. His only other ODI fifer came against England (5/69). Shami now has 170 wickets from 93 ODIs at an average of 25.42. He made his ODI debut over a decade ago during a match against Pakistan in Delhi. Shami now has 37 wickets against Australia in the format.
