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India vs England: How Mohammed Shami broke Alastair Cook’s defence in Vizag
Mohammed Shami produced a magnificent ball to dismiss England skipper Alastair Cook cheaply as India dominated the second day of the Vizag Test
Alastair Cook has a formidable record in India. During the Rajkot Test, he scored a century and went past 1000 runs in Tests in India. The magnitude of Cook’s record is such that it needs a special delivery to get rid of England’s Test skipper. On day two of the Vizag match, Mohammed Shami produced a delivery for the ages. (DAY 2 BLOG)
India managed to reach 455 thanks to Virat Kohli’s 167 and R Ashwin’s 58. The hosts were pumped up when the Indian innings began, with Shami opening the bowling. (SCORECARD)
The Indian pacer immediately found the right lengths and lines in his first over. Bowling close to 90 mph and hitting the seam, Shami almost had Cook on the fifth ball when the ball straightened on off stump and the leading edge just went out of the bowler’s reach. On the sixth ball, Shami got the ball to nip back in but Cook got his bat down at the right time.
In Shami’s second over, after two tight deliveries, he struck gold with the third ball. Bowling from over the wicket, Shami landed the ball on a good length with the seam pointing up, it nipped back in off the pitch and went through the small gap that was left between Cook’s bat and pad, the ball crashed into the off stump and it broke the stump into two.
The celebrations from Shami and Indian skipper Kohli highlighted the importance of the wicket. England never recovered from that early blow and towards the end of the day, they headed into a tailspin as they ended up on 103/5, with R Ashwin taking two wickets and debutant Jayant yadav chipping in. However, the ball that has probably set India on course for a potential win in Vizag was Shami’s dismissal of Cook.
