Dubai: The match between archrivals India and Pakistan in the Champions Trophy saw an erratic start for the Rohit Sharma-led side as pacer Mohammed Shami bowled five wides in the opening over of the high-stakes encounter and registered an unwanted record to his name.
Shami took 11 balls to complete his six-ball over, surpassing Jasprit Bumrah’s nine-ball over to bowl the longest over by an Indian in the Champions Trophy.
Coincidentally, Bumrah’s nine-ball over also came against Pakistan in the 2017 Champions Trophy final at the Oval, which India lost by 180 runs to miss out on their second tournament title.
Shami’s five wides was also the most by any bowler in the opening over of the Champions Trophy. However, Tinashe Panyangara of Zimbabwe holds the record of bowling most wides (seven) in an over in the tournament.
The Indian pacer was not looking at his best and was attended by team physio on the ground during his third over, after which he went off the field for a brief period before returning later.
India’s frontline pacer Shami and Harshit Rana remain wicketless in their opening spells before Hardik Pandya provided the first breakthrough with a pricey dismissal of Babar Azam in the ninth over. Babar departed after scoring 23 runs off 23 with the help of five fours.
In India’s tournament opener against Bangladesh, Shami returned with the figures of 5-53 as Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 101 guided them to a comfortable six-wicket comfortable win.
Earlier, Pakistan captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and opted to bat first. It is a must-win encounter for Pakistan to keep their semi-final hopes alive from Group A after losing to New Zealand by 60 runs in the tournament opener in Karachi.
(IANS)
