Mohammed Shami announced his Test retirement on Friday, exactly 13 years after he had made his Test debut, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, against the West Indies on November 6, 2013.
In that match, he announced his arrival to the international Test scene with a match haul of 9/118.
The fast bowler went on to play 64 Tests for India, took 229 wickets at an average of 27.71.
It wasn't just the debut, though, in which he starred. The 36-year-old’s career was full of extraordinary performances.
We look at some of his finest match-winning spells in the longest format of the game.
Kolkata 2013 (5/47)
The West Indies had quite a few big names in their ranks, like Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Marlon Samuels. A 23-year-old Shami, playing in his first Test, had a great outing as he took nine wickets in the match, including a 5/47 in the second innings.
He bowled a tight straight line right from the outset and reverse-swung the old ball at a good pace later in the match. Out of his nine wickets, six were “bowled”, and one was an LBW. That showed how accurate he was.
{{/usCountry}}He bowled a tight straight line right from the outset and reverse-swung the old ball at a good pace later in the match. Out of his nine wickets, six were “bowled”, and one was an LBW. That showed how accurate he was.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read: Mohammed Shami announces retirement from Test cricket
Adelaide 2018 (3/65)
For the first time in cricket history, India beat Australia in Australia in a Test series. In the first game of the three-Test series at Adelaide, the Indian fast bowler returned figures of 2/58 and 3/65 to help the visitors beat the hosts by 31 runs in a thrilling match. All the main bowlers in the team contributed to the famous win, and Shami played his part to a tee.
In the first innings, he dismissed the dangerous Travis Head for 72.
In another notable performance in Australia, Shami took 6/56, his career-best figures, in the second innings of the second Test at Perth. However, despite that, the visitors ended up losing the game.
Johannesburg 2018 (5/28)
Shami took two five-fors in South Africa, the first of which came in Johannesburg. In what was a low-scorer on a tricky pitch, the hosts, chasing 241 to win, were cruising at 124/1 at one point, and the match appeared theirs to lose.
Shami, who had removed opener Aiden Markram earlier in the innings, ran through the Proteas’ lower-order to lead his team to a famous 63-run victory and returned with figures of 5/28.
Visakhapatnam 2019 (5/35)
For a fast bowler to take a five-for on Indian pitches remains a massive achievement.
The pitches are flat, and when they deteriorate, they tend to lean in favour of spinners. Fast bowlers have little say in the outcome of Test matches in India.
At Visakhapatnam, however, Shami took his second five-for in India as the hosts thumped the Proteas by 203 runs in the first game of the series. Shami was deadly in the second innings as his 5/35 ensured the visitors wouldn’t even reach 200.
Among his wickets were Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock.
Centurion 2021 (5/44)
Out of Shami’s six career five-fors, three came against South Africa. In the Proteas’ first innings in the match at Centurion Park in 2021, the fast bowler took 5/44 and helped India bowl the hosts out for 197.
The visitors took a 130-run first-innings lead as a result, and that proved to be decisive. India crashed to 174 in the second innings, but a good first-innings lead meant they had enough to defend.
Chasing 305 to win, the hosts faltered again and were bowled out for 191, with Shami taking another three wickets.