3 best deliveries by Mohammed Shami in 2023 World Cup

Mohammed Shami has been India's top performer in the 2023 World Cup. It is hard to believe that the pace bowler did not feature in India's playing XI for the initial games, but Hardik Pandya's injury forced Team India to change the combination. Shami's deliveries have been quite challenging to play for the batters.

Be it Dharamsala, Lucknow, Mumbai or Kolkata, Shami's quick deliveries have made life difficult for the batters. While the conditions in Lucknow were not the best for batting during the India vs England match, Shami scalped 12 wickets in two matches on a batting-friendly surface at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium in the 2023 World Cup.

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Mohammed Shami was in terrific touch during the IPL as well. He won the Purple Cap earlier this year, helping the Gujarat Titans qualify for the final. Shami's deliveries have been top-notch in this World Cup, and here are the top three balls bowled by him.

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#1 Mohammed Shami cleans up Angelo Mathews

India locked horns with Sri Lanka at the iconic Wankhede Stadium during the league round of the 2023 World Cup. The Men in Blue scored 357/8 in 50 overs. Fans expected the island nation to give a tough fight to the Indian team, but Shami's incredible spell led to Sri Lanka losing all their wickets for just 55 runs.

Shami picked up the wickets of Charith Asalanka, Angelo Mathews, Dushan Hemantha, Dushmantha Chameera, and Kasun Rajitha to finish with figures of 5/18 in just five overs.

The ball which he bowled to dismiss Angelo Mathews was the best of his spell. Mathews was one of the three Sri Lankan batters to touch double digits. The Sri Lankan all-rounder scored 12 runs off 25 balls before eventually losing his leg stump to a quick full inswinging delivery from Shami.

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#2 Mohammed Shami sets up Ben Stokes in Lucknow

As mentioned earlier, the conditions at the Bharat Ratna Shree Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Stadium in Lucknow were not the best for batting during the India vs England match. Still, the Indian bowlers had to execute their plans well to stop the English team from chasing down a 230-run target.

Ben Stokes has helped England complete multiple successful run-chases, but the all-rounder failed to tackle Shami's pace and accuracy in Lucknow. Shami set him up with fantastic deliveries from around the wicket. The ball beat the outside edge of Stokes' bat multiple times. Finally, Shami fired a delivery to his stumps and dismissed Stokes bowled out.

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#3 Mohammed Shami's delivery leaves Jonny Bairstow clueless

Earlier in the same game, Shami picked up Jonny Bairstow's wicket by bowling a delivery between the short and good length area. Bairstow came out of his crease and attempted a shot towards the off-side region.

However, the England batter could not understand Shami's delivery as the ball took the inside edge of his bat and hit the stumps. Bairstow hit two fours in his 14-run knock. He looked set for a big score, but Shami's breathtaking delivery ensured that India dismissed him cheaply.