Having made his comeback in the Duleep Trophy earlier this season, Shami continued his search for rhythm and consistency after a lean phase marked by injuries and poor form. The 35-year-old veteran toiled most of the day, bowling 14 overs without reward, looking a shadow of his fiery past.
The leading wicket-taker of the 2023 World Cup struggled for rhythm and sting through his first four spells, before producing a late burst of old magic of reverse swing. Skipper Abhimanyu Easwaran’s move to bring Shami back for a fifth spell proved decisive as Uttarkhand lower-order eighth wicket partnership started counter-attacking to take the team past 200.
The veteran seamer found some reverse swing under fading sunlight and cleaned up the tail in dramatic fashion. He first knocked over Janmejay Joshi with a sharp in-swinger that uprooted the middle stump before finding a faint edge from Rajan Kumar off the next delivery.
He missed out on a hat-trick, but returned to bowl Devendra Singh Bora in the same over to finish with 3/37 from 15.5 overs. Those final four balls salvaged an otherwise ordinary day for Shami, who bowled in short, probing bursts but struggled for penetration on a brown, grassless Eden Gardens pitch that offered little movement.
Earlier, even Uttarakhand’s tailenders negotiated him comfortably as the Bengal attack searched for inspiration. It was rookie pace bowling all-rounder Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal (4/54) who impressed the most with his lively pace, late swing and control.
The 25-year-old, who made his debut last season and scored a century in their last Ranji match against Punjab here, removed the top order after Shami and Akash Deep failed to make early inroads despite being handed the new ball. Ishan Porel (3/40) provided solid support, claiming the crucial wicket of Uttarakhand’s top-scorer Bhupen Lalwani, who compiled a patient 71 off 128 balls with nine boundaries before poking one away going delivery in the final session.
Lalwani’s dismissal triggered a collapse as Uttarakhand slumped from 179/6 to 213 all out with Shami’s late burst. Shami, who had a leg surgery in 2024, last featured for India during their Champions Trophy triumph earlier in March before enduring a disappointing IPL campaign.
Since then, he has been overlooked for the Test series in England, the Asia Cup, the West Indies Test series and now the upcoming white-ball series in Australia beginning Sunday. For much of the final hour, Bengal struggled to wrap up the tail, with Abhay Negi (28 not out) and Joshi adding valuable lower-order runs before Shami’s late spell cleaned up the innings in the 73rd over.
Surprisingly, the wicket looked devoid of grass and carried a dry, brownish tinge, a stark contrast to its greener appearance on the eve of the match. The Bengal team management’s late call to shave off the grass raised a few eyebrows, especially after opting for a four-pronged pace attack featuring the returning Shami, alongside another India pacer Akash Deep to go with Ishan Porel and Jaiswal.