Mohammed Shami made a triumphant return to competitive cricket, playing a crucial role in Bengal's 11-run victory against Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy Elite Group C match at the Holkar Stadium in Indore on Saturday.
Chasing 338 runs for victory, the hosts fell agonisingly short, being bowled out for 326 runs in the last session of play on Saturday.
Coming after a long injury layoff, Shami made significant contributions both with the ball and the bat. The ace India pacer ended up with a seven-wicket match haul and his quick-fire 37 off 36 balls in the second innings did make a difference in the end.
More importantly, Shami did not show any discomfort while bowling 19 overs in MP's first innings and 24.2 overs in the second. He also provided the finishing touch by having Kumar Kartikeya caught by Rohit Kumar at third man.
Shami provided the first breakthrough of the final morning when he castled Rajat Patidar in the third ball of the day. But MP skipper Shubham Sharma (61, 116b) and Venkatesh Iyer (53, 95b) threatened to take the match away by stitching a 94-run sixth-wicket stand.
MP went into lunch session needing 100 more runs with five wickets in hand. But Bengal fought back as Iyer was caught by Sudip Gharami off Rohit while Sharma was trapped in front by Shahbaz Ahmed (4/48). Saransh Jain (32, 48b) and Aryan Pandey (22, 63b) raised MP's hopes with a 62-run stand for the eighth wicket, but Shahbaz dismissed both to put Bengal in driver's seat.
