Virat Kohli lauds Mohammed Shami after a successful Test series against Sri Lanka

What’s the story?

It seems as though Indian skipper, Virat Kohli, is in awe of his prime pace bowler, Mohammed Shami, as the Jonagar-born 27-year-old took three wickets in the second innings – and five in the match – to help India to an emphatic victory.

Kohli’s men absolutely razed the Sri Lankan batters as they couldn’t muster even 200 runs in any of the two innings that they batted on in the third Test. When asked about what he thought of Shami, Kohli showered praises on him.

“I certainly rate him top three for sure because of his wicket-taking ability and the kind of impact he has on games. When he makes up his mind to come out and give it his 120%, then he can bowl like this - 145, 140 clicks on a regular basis and troubling the batsmen.

It is not just reckless bowling. So he is a quality bowler, he has all the ingredients of becoming a consistent world-class bowler, provided the fitness factor can be maintained and hopefully he is not hampered with any more injuries.”

In case you didn’t know...

India played Sri Lanka in three Tests and won all of them in a comprehensive manner. While they won the first Test by 304 runs, they handed Sri Lanka embarrassing innings defeats in the next two Tests.

The details

And the Indian bowlers did a fabulous job at subduing the Lankans in their very own backyard, with Shami leading the pace attack with 10 wickets from three games.

Captain Kohli was adamant that Shami is a very valuable bowler for the team and that he is a joy to watch when he is in form before concluding that the 27-year-old is a very special bowler.

What’s next?

India take on the hosts in a 5-match ODI series that begins on the 20th of August at Dambulla. India are fully expected to continue their fine form and inflict further torment on a much-maligned Sri Lankan team.

Author’s take

It seems absurd that the finalists of the 2011 World Cup are having to face such a plight at the hands of the nation that were not entirely known for their Test outings away from home under MS Dhoni. Sangakkara’s fine form in England just makes it all the more befuddling as to why the former captain retired so early when he definitely had so much to give to the team.