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Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody believes handing the new ball to Mohammed Shami in the World Cup final was not a well-thought-out decision.
Shami, who was used as a one-change bowler in the previous games, shared the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah ahead of Mohammed Siraj. The Bengal pacer failed to create the desired impact and often struggled to control the swing.
He conceded 47 runs off seven overs at an economy rate of 6.70 as Australia chased down the 241-run target quite convincingly.
During a discussion on ESPNCricinfo, Moody said:
"He didn't have the same control of the swing. Even though you are talking about a difference of three or four overs in receiving the ball, that's a significant amount of time with one of those white-balls, because that really does swing."
"Mohammed Siraj has had that new ball in his hand for the last year and has done a remarkable job," he continued. "Maybe that decision might have been something that was not thought through as well as it could have been, given the evidence that the analysts tell us."
Siraj, too, didn't have a great outing in the final, returning with figures of 1/45 from his seven overs.
"Mohammed Siraj needs the new ball to be really effective" - Anil Kumble
Former Indian skipper Anil Kumble also echoed the same sentiments, saying that taking away the new ball from Mohammed Siraj was not the right decision. He stressed that while Mohammed Shami can bowl in all phases, Siraj needs the new ball to be effective.
"Mohammed Siraj needs the new ball to be really effective," Kumble said in the same video. "Whereas Mohammed Shami can do the job for all the phases. Siraj somehow gives the impression, at least from what we saw today, that he certainly required the new ball to be a lot more effective."
Siraj finished with 14 wickets from 11 games, while Shami ended as the highest wicket-taker of the ODI World Cup with 24 scalps from seven games.
