Visakhapatnam: On a fifth-day pitch at the ACA-VDCA stadium, riddled with cracks, speed demon Mohammed Shami produced an exemplary spell of fast bowling as he wrecked havoc on South Africa batting line-up to earn India a massive 203 runs win in the first Test of the three-match Freedom series here on Sunday.
Shami, who went wicketless in South Africa's first innings, emerged to be visitors' biggest tormentor in the fourth innings of the Test as he picked up five wickets for 35 runs to skittle out the visitors for paltry 191 before tea break and wrapped things up in India's favour. On a typical sub-continent pitch, tailor-made for spinners, Shami's spell was a rare sight to watch.
In the process, Shami became only the fifth Indian pacer to take five wickets in the fourth innings of a Test match in India. Before Shami, Javagal Srinath achieved the feat way back in 1996 against the same opponent in Ahmedabad. The Mysore Express finished the proceeding with a 6-wicket haul for 21 runs.
In 1981 Mumbai Test against England, Kapil Dev and Madan Lal picked up five wickets each in the fourth innings to help India win.
Amongst them, Karsan Ghavri is the first Indian pacer to achieve this rare feat. In 1977 Mumbai Test, medium-pacer Ghavri picked up five wickets for 33 runs against England. However, the match ended in a draw.
On Sunday, Shami's top order victims were Temba Bavuma, skipper Faf du Plessis and first-innings centurion Quinton de Kock, and he castled all of them.
