Hunting In Pairs: High Quality Bowling By India's Shami-Bumrah

Cricket World Cup 2023 (Image Source: Google)

Cricket-crazy Indian fans have long enjoyed opposition fast bowling attacks that hunt in pairs -- Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, Wasim Akram with Waqar Younis and most recently Stuart Broad and James Anderson.

But the cricketing powerhouse has now found its own deadly duo in Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, the men who rattled England's batting at Lucknow's Ekana Stadium in the World Cup on Sunday.

The hosts extended their unbeaten run to six games in the tournament with a 100-run win over the defending champions to all but book their place in the semi-finals.

Bumrah started the demolition job with wickets on successive deliveries in his third over to send back Dawid Malan, who inside edged a delivery on to his stumps, and Joe Root, out for lbw for a first-ball duck.

Shami soon joined forces as he bowled Ben Stokes for nought and then had Jonny Bairstow chop a length ball on to his wickets to also be on a hat-trick and raise the noise at a nearly-packed 50,000-seater stadium.

"I am proud of the Indian team's performance. Shami and Bumrah were outstanding. No other bowling pair can come close to these two. They are the best at the moment," former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said on Star Sports.

"The four wickets taken by Shami and Bumrah in the first powerplay never allowed England to comeback into the game."

Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle said "it is high quality bowling from Bumrah and Shami", while former England captain Michael Vaughan lauded India's attack as "high class".

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