Mohammad Shami picked three wickets in India's first Test win at Nagpur in first Test.
While spinners ruled the roost with Ravindra Jadeja taking 7 wickets and R Ashwin taking 8 wickets in the match including their respective fifers and Australia’s Todd Murphy taking 7/124 on Test debut; fast bowlers were reduced to just formalities.
But India’s Mohammad Shami set the tone by dismissing David Warner for 1 in the first innings and then picked two wickets in the second innings to wrap up Australia for 91 runs.
Speaking to Cricbuzz after the game, Karthik named the fast bowler as 'Torture Shami' and said that the Bengal pacer was the toughest bowler he had faced in his career.
“If I have to use one word for Shami it will be 'Torture Shami'. Because in my whole career, he is the toughest bowler I have faced in the nets, he has got me out a couple of times as well in the match. But he has been nasty to play in the nets. I thought I was the only one so then I asked Kohli, Rohit, and they are all legends of the game and they all said they hate playing Shami,” Karthik told Cricbuzz.
The Indian fast bowler made a sensational comeback in the T20I side last year, forcing his way into the World Cup team despite not playing for the majority of the year. He has been the enforcer in absence of Jasprit Bumrah for the Indian team.
Karthik explained that Shami's lengths made his special and that the bowler was unlucky to not have more dismissals to his name.
“What makes him so special is - all of his strength come into play in net session, his upright seam position, his natural length, that nasty length of 6-8 metre mark, where the two major mode of dismissals are caught behind or caught at slip. And you can see why he has been unlucky over a period of time as well because that length says that he gets the batsman beaten numerous times but never gets that wicket," Karthik said.
India and Australia will play the second Test in Delhi on February 17.