SL vs SA 2018: The Conditions in the 1st ODI were Quite Similar to South Africa - Tabraiz Shamsi

It was a great comeback from South Africa, as they claimed the opening ODI against Sri Lanka by five wickets to gain a significant advantage in the five-match series.

It was a much-needed victory for them especially after losing the Test series by a 2-0 margin. The win was built mainly around two superb spells by Kagiso Rabada and Tabraiz Shamsi. They bagged four wickets each, as the hosts were skittled out for just 193 runs in 35 overs. It was always going to be a below par total.

Shamsi returned with impressive figures of 4/33. The left-arm chinaman bowlers said it wasn’t tough to adjust to the conditions in Dambulla.

He felt the track was quite similar to the ones back home. However, South Africa chased the target down in a canter. They eventually won by five wickets with nearly 19 overs to spare.

“To be honest, I felt like it was a bit more of a South Africa type of wicket,” Shamsi was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz. “There wasn’t much spin, especially because we bowled first. We bowl a lot on pitches like this back home, so it was okay to adjust,” he added.

Tabraiz Shamsi stated he could adjust to any conditions and bowl according to the set plans of the team. South Africa decided to rest the like of Imran Tahir for the ODI series. Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj have been the two frontline spinners for the team.

My captain has given me the freedom, says Tabraiz Shamsi 

“Every time I play, I try to do my best for the team. I have been given freedom by the captain and the coach to try and express myself; I am glad I was able to produce today.

“Cricket is a funny game; you are not always going to have a good day, sometimes things might go wrong. I have been given the freedom to express myself and to try and take wickets, on another day my job might be to contain and hold the game. It depends on what is required of me,” he further added.

It was a great spell of bowling by Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi upfront which reduced the hosts to 36/5. Hence, Shamsi feels the major share of the credit for the win goes to the new ball pair.

“Even though I managed to get out the batsmen who made runs, our fast bowlers made our job a lot easier. Any team that is five down early with 30-odd runs on the board makes the job easier. Credit to Sri Lanka for getting close to 200 runs after a start like that. I am happy to do my job when I am given the ball, which is to take wickets,” he said.