"ICC tournaments ka asli king" - Fans react as Mohammed Shami emerges as India's finest bowler in IND vs AUS 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal

Mohammed Shami finished as India's wrecker-in-chief in the 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal against Australia on Tuesday (March 4) in Dubai. He finished with figures of 3/48 off 10 overs and is now the joint-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with eight scalps.

Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. Although, Shami dismissed Cooper Connolly (0) early, Travis Head (39) and Steve Smith constructed a crucial 50-run stand for Australia. Thereafter, Marnus Labuschagne (29) and Smith steered the Men in Yellow at a comfortable rate.

With back-to-back wickets in the form of Labuschagne and Josh Inglis (11), Australia were in a spot of bother at 144/4. However, Smith and Alex Carey employed a positive mindset to put them on the frontfoot. At one point, it looked like Australia were cruising towards a total of around 300.

Nevertheless, Mohammed Shami broke the furniture of Steve Smith (73) with a yorker to put an end to their 54-run stand. Thereafter, Carey went on to slam 61 off 57 before being run out by Shreyas Iyer.

In the 49th over, Shami claimed his third wicket by dismissing Nathan Ellis (10), as Australia eventually posted 264 on the board.

Fans on X expressed their reactions to Mohammed Shami's exceptional performances, which helped India restrict Australia to a manageable total. Most of them hailed the right-arm pacer for his record in ICC events, where he is the country's most successful bowler.

Here are the fan reactions:

Here are the other reactions:

"End of a very good spell by Shami. Thought he bowled his best today in the competition. Even better than his 5-fer vs Bangladesh. Understood the nature of the pitch bowled a lot of slower ones and cutters. His wicket of Smith could well be the turning point of this game, if India go on to win this fixture," a fan tweeted.

"Shami - ICC tournaments ka asli king! 👑🔥Joint highest wicket-taker!" another posted.

"Mohammed Shami in ICC Tournament - Greatest in the World. Only two slightly comparable - Starc and McGrath," one fan tweeted.

"Mohammed Shami's balls had the same fire today, which is needed in big matches! He broke the back of the Kangaroos by taking 3 wickets. This is India's match winner! 🇮🇳🔥" another posted.

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Mohammed Shami surpasses Dennis Lillee's record in IND vs AUS 2025 Champions Trophy semifinal

Along with being India's most successful bowler, Mohammed Shami has achieved another major feat in the 2025 Champions Trophy. He went past the legendary Dennis Lillee's record of most international wickets. Lillee scalped 458 wickets in 133 appearances for Australia from 1971 to 1984.

Shami has now picked up 461 wickets across all formats for India in international cricket. Notably, he has been the side's highest wicket-taker in the last three ODI World Cups. With 24 wickets in seven games, the right-arm pacer helped India reach the final of the 2023 World Cup.