Indian pacer Mohammed Shami not only set up a comfortable 125-run victory over the West Indies, but also managed to entertain his team-mates with a hilarious mimicry of rival pacer Sheldon Cottrell and by showing umpire Richard Kettleborough the iconic Billy Bowden 'crooked finger' during their ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 group match at Old Trafford, Manchester on Thursday.
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After posting 268/7, India bowled out the Windies for a paltry 148 inside 35 overs as the Men in Blue inched closer to the semi-final spot. Shami took four wickets for the second successive match, but missed out on the man of the match award to skipper Virat Kohli, who scored 72 off 82 balls.
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Shami, a right-arm fast-medium pacer, only got to play in the tournament after Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up an injury. The 28-year-old Bengal cricketer has so far picked up eight wickets in two matches, including a hattrick against Afghanistan.
In the 30th over of the Windies innings, Yuzvendra Chahal trapped Cottrell in front and soon Shami joined the fun with his own version of salute-and-march celebration, leaving his team-mates in splits.
For the record, earlier in the match, Cottrell bounced out Shami with a well-directed delivery.
Watch it here:
And, here's the footage of Shami showing Kettleborough the Bowden 'finger'.
Cottrell's celebration, a tribute to his country's armed forces, is one of the best in sports. In the most inopportune moment, it became a cause of Shami's merriment, but all in good sport. Cottrell had reportedly trained with the Jamaican Army for six months.
