What every World T20 team can take away from Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Dinesh Karthik’s dismissals in a warm-up game against Australia

The selection of Mohammed Shami, first as a reserve and then as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, has certainly divided opinion. Shami’s last over in Monday’s game was his first in three months, and he has yet to play a T20I since last year’s World Cup. With some assistance from Virat Kohli in the deep, he took three wickets in four balls to help India win the game.
To be honest, he’s returned after a long absence. So all we wanted to do was give him an over. This was always the plan from the start – he comes in and bowls at the end, said captain Rohit Sharma after the game. With the new ball, we know how lethal he can be. We just wanted to give him a little challenge, so we came and bowled that death over and saw what it was.
In Australia, Rohit stressed the importance of bowling hard lengths, but five of Shami’s six deliveries were pitched right up, including yorkers that bowled Josh Inglis and Kane Richardson. It’s a risky strategy – Pat Cummins’ strike would have sailed over long-on but for Kohli’s leap – but it’s a joy to watch when Shami gets it right in the blockhole.
Even the hard-length change-up delivery to Ashton Agar was sharp and climbed steeply. Shami is well-versed in Australian conditions, and there was no better way to kickstart his comeback.
I’m sure we’re working on it, but I’d like to see more consistency in where you want to pitch the ball. You know, when you play at home versus when you play in Australia, you have to change your tactics and lengths a little bit. Keeping it simple and hitting the ball hard on the deck is sometimes a good option.
But, like Shami’s last over, Harshal Patel’s penultimate over, which went for only five runs, was full of lengths, including the superb dipping slower one that bowled Aaron Finch.