Watch: Virat Kohli asks fans to cheer for Mohammed Shami instead of him in Indore Test
Mohammed Shami was on fire for India on day 1 of the Indore Test as he grabbed three wickets to help the hosts bowl Bangladesh out for 150.
In Short
- Virat Kohli was seen asking the crowd to cheer for Mohammed Shami and get behind the pacer
- Shami responded with two wickets off successive balls in the final over before tea
- Shami finished with 3 for 27 as India bowled Bangladesh out for 150 on day 1 of the 1st Test
India captain Virat Kohli is known to get behind the crowd and is often seen asking the fans to turn up the volume while cheering for his team. It was again on show on Thursday but this time it was a bit different than before.
Kohli was seen asking the crowd to cheer for Mohammed Shami and get behind the fast bowler as he got ready to bowl the final over before the tea break on Day 1 of the first Test against Bangladesh in Indore.
Fans were seen cheering for Kohli but the skipper instead asked them to get behind the Bengal pacer, who responded with two wickets off successive deliveries just before the interval.
Shami removed Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan with his final two deliveries of the 54th over but couldn't take a hat-trick as he came back to bowl the second over of the final session.
India though completed a team hat-trick as Ishant Sharma removed Liton Das with his very first delivery after the tea break.
In a video posted by the BCCI on social media, Kohli could be seen asking the crowd to get behind Shami instead of cheering for him. "All heart - Captain @imVkohli asks the crowd to cheer for an on fire @MdShami11 #TeamIndia #INDvBAN," the Indian cricket board captioned the post.
All heart - Captain @imVkohli asks the crowd to cheer for an on fire @MdShami11 #TeamIndia #INDvBAN pic.twitter.com/IEk2GY537Y BCCI (@BCCI) November 14, 2019
Shami was the pick of the Indian bowlers and finished with 3 for 27 from 13 overs as the hosts bowled out Bangladesh for 150 after being asked to field first at the Holkar stadium. Ishant Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Umesh Yadav picked up two wickets each.
After the day's play Shami revealed that he was thinking about the hat-trick during the tea break.
"I came to bowl one change, so I had to think of the conditions and situation. Thought process is to bowl lines that are as tight as possible. I've been using the width of the crease for the last two years.
"When you take a wicket for India, you feel so well. Our unit, either bowlers or batsmen, when they do well, we all enjoy. I was thinking about the hat-trick during the tea break," Shami told Sanjay Manjrekar after the day's play.
India finished the day at 86 for 1, trailing Bangladesh by just 64 runs with Cheteshwar Pujara (43 not out) and Mayank Agarwal (37 not out) at the crease.