Shami makes a return as India beats West Indies in a World T20 warm-up match

Mohammed Shami made an impressive comeback for India against West Indies in a World T20 warm-up match that was witnessed by at least 25,000 people at the Eden Gardens. A spell of 4-0-30-2 against a powerful batting lineup was impressive in itself and even more so considering what he has gone through in recent times.

MS Dhoni has recently pointed to the happy dilemma he would face should Shami be fit, with Jasprit Bumrah sealing the other pacers slot. Shami would then have to compete with Ashish Nehra for the second seamer’s position and there is a possibility he might not find himself in the playing XI straight away.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma renewed his love affair with the Eden Gardens by scoring an unbeaten 98 that took India to India 185 for 6 in 20 overs. Playing the first warm-up match against the West Indies, India won by 45 runs and set the tone for the group league match against Pakistan slated at the same venue on March 19.

Rohit was the key performer in Thursday’s match on the very ground where he scored 98 and 50 in two IPL appearances to help Mumbai Indians lift the title for the second time last year. He had made his Test debut here in November 2013, scoring 177 against the West Indies before scoring the ODI World record of 264 against Sri Lanka in November 2014. Despite being an unofficial match, Rohit’s innings against the West Indies on Thursday breathed life into the Indian innings.

Rohit, who had modest returns in the next four matches, pounded nine fours and seven sixes off 57 balls. Shikhar Dhawan (21) and Yuvraj Singh (31) were the others who made handy contributions. Jasprit Bumrah shattered the stumps of Chirs Gayle (20) and conceded just six runs in his two overs. Pawan Negi, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja claimed two wickets each after the Windies had got off to a blazing start by adding 26 off the first 2 overs. The off-spinners Harbhajan Singh and R Ashwin opened the bowling for the hosts, however, Gayle and Johnson Charles smashed them forcing MS Dhoni to make changes.

Brief Scores: 

India: 185/6 in 20 overs (R Sharma 98*, Y Singh 31; J Taylor 2/26, S Benn 2/30)

West Indies: 140/10 in 19.2 overs (M Shami 2/30, P Negi 2/15, R Jadeja 2/26, H Pandya 2/25)

Here are some of the match highlights:

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