Watch: Mohammed Shami Dismisses Sadeera Samarawickrama With A Vicious Bouncer

Mohammed Shami might have said that the Feroz Shah Kotla pitch for the ongoing third Test against Sri Lanka was not the kind of track the team was expecting before the South Africa series, but the way he dismissed Sadeera Samarawickrama one is bound to doubt his statement.

“The kind of tracks we would have wanted to bowl on before going to South Africa haven’t been provided. So it didn’t go as per our plans. But it is a good thing that on these kind of pitches, you need to work even harder as a fast bowler. These tracks test your fitness as you get to bowl long spells,” Shami had said at the end of the third day’s play.

Well, the pitch might not have behaved as per Shami’s expectations, but it did not stop the India pace spearhead to dismiss Samarawickrama with a vicious bouncer in the final session of the fourth day’s play. Samarawickrama and Dimuth Karunaratne had begun cautiously in pursuit of an imposing 410, seeing out five overs without facing many problems before Shami came to bowl the sixth over of the innings.

Shami could not ask the batsmen any question on the first three balls but floored Samarawickrama on the following delivery. The Bengal pacer bowled a short one which was angled in, and the right-handed batsman somehow managed to get out of its way by arching his back. However, the Sri Lankan opener could not get out of his way on the following delivery which was yet another brutal bouncer from Shami. Fired at 143kph, the ball was angled in and this time around it took the edge and flew to gully where Ajinkya Rahane took the easiest of catches.  The batsman immediately reviewed the decision only to see it getting wasted.

Here is a clip of that wicket:

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