Hyderabad: India defeated New Zealand in the semi-final of the World Cup 2023 on Thursday by 70 runs as Virat Kohli smashed his 50th ODI hundred. Also, Shreyas Iyer played an attacking knock. However, Mohammed Shami grabbed all the limelight in the key match with his seven-wicket haul. Reflecting on the brilliant performance of his disciple, Mohammed Shami's coach Badruddin Siddiqui expressed delight and also remarked that the bowlers have garnered all the attention in the competition so far.
"Batters were in focus earlier in the tournament history. However, the bowlers have been talked about a lot this time around. Also, I am happy to see the team scripting victories due to the performance of (Mohammed) Shami," Siddiqui revealed in an exclusive interview with ETV Bharat.
Shami has shined with the ball for the national side taking 23 wickets across six matches with a bowling average of 9.13. Interestingly, he was not a part of the playing XI due to the team combination. But (all-rounder) Hardik Pandya was injured in India's fourth fixture of the competition and the injury paved way for Shami to be slotted in the playing XI.
"All bowlers cannot be played together and so (Mohammed) Shami was benched for the initial part of the tournament. However, when he was included in the lineup, the pacer gave his 100 per cent in the field. Now, no one can ponder upon the option of benching Shami," he asserted.