NEW DELHI: Veteran pacer Mohammed Shami, who made an impressive comeback to competitive cricket with a four-wicket spell on Thursday, stole the show with the bat as well on Friday, smacking a quickfire 36-ball 37 against Madhya Pradesh in the second innings of Bengal’s Ranji Trophy match.
Making a return to the pitch after 360 days, Shami, bowled full-tilt on the second day of the Elite Group C game. On day three, the 34-year-old looked good while swinging the bat in the second innings as he added crucial runs lower down the order to help Bengal set MP a target of 338 for victory.
Amid his blitz, Shami struck a couple of fours and an equal number of sixes as Bengal scored 276 all out in their second essay. Shami (2) was dismissed cheaply in the first innings.
Earlier, Shahbaz Ahmed hit a breezy 80-ball 92 while skipper Anustup Majumdar scored 44 before Bengal were bowled out in the second innings.
With the ball, Shami’s victims included MP skipper Shubham Sharma, all-rounder Saransh Jain and two tail-enders, with three of the four batters being bowled while one edged to wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha.
Prior to the Ranji game, Shami had not played any competitive game since the ODI World Cup final on November 19 last year.
He had undergone an ankle surgery which was followed by a swollen ankle that ruled him out for the three-Test home series against New Zealand.
It is likely that the Indian team in Australia may get a Shami boost in the latter part of the five-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy.
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