On Day 2, after Bengal were bowled out for 328 in the first innings, Shami made the new ball talk as he sent both Jammu and Kashmir openers back to the hut in his first spell. He also broke the glorious 147-run partnership between Paras Dogra and Abdul Samad by taking the latter out at the end of the day.
On day 3, Shami started with three wickets already in his kitty. The Bangladeshi seamer made his breakthrough in the sixth ball he bowled on Tuesday. A few overs later, Shami dismissed the other batsman to complete a five-for. But like top bowlers, he didn’t just settle for a five-for and then make a one-inch mile.
In the next over, he got the wicket of Vanshaj Sharma while the tourists were on the ropes. They needed another 97 runs to match Bengal’s first-innings score but had only two wickets left. This is when Auqib Nabi Dar and Yudhvir Singh Charak put together a fantastic rearguard action, amassing a partnership of 64 runs from 75 balls.
The Bengal captain gave his key pacer a breather and tried to break the partnership with the other bowlers at his disposal. However, no one was able to thwart the resilience of the two Jammu and Kashmir sailors. Shami eventually returned to the attack and beat Yudhvir with a peach of a delivery.
A few overs later, the 35-year-old Nabi cast to finish with his best first-class figures of 8/90 in 22.1 overs. He was instrumental in helping Bengal get a 26-point lead. The national selectors must have taken note of this lion-hearted performance from the veteran seamer and it would be surprising if this doesn’t return him to the Indian setup.
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