ENG v IND 2021: Mohammad Shami is more English than some English pacers, feels Steve Harmison

Harmison also compared Shami-Ishant duo to him and Matthew Hoggard combination.

By Swapnil Shireesh Javkhedkar - 20 Aug, 2021

India were at their best in the second Test match against England at Lord’s where Indian quicks performed exceptionally well to bowl out hosts in just two sessions on Day 5 to register a famous win by 151 runs.

The former England pacer Steve Harmison lauded Team India pacers for their performance and pointed out similarities between duo of Mohammad Shami-Ishant Sharma and Matthew Hoggard and himself.

Shami I think is more English than some of the seamers that we've got in our team because he runs up, he’s got great core strength, a big backside, a bit like Matthew Hoggard and my time. We used to have big backsides, could really swing it away in and around off stump and I think Shami is a fine, fine bowler,Harmison told ESPNCricinfo.

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With that, you’ve got somebody like Ishant who is 6 foot or 4 and Shami who is about 5 foot 10. One is bringing the ball back in, the other is taking it away. They complement each other a lot,” the Englishman added.

The 42-year-old then opined that be believes Ishant Sharma is India skipper Virat Kohli’s go-to man since he has the ability to take the ball away from the batsman.

You've got a tall bowler in Ishant who likes to get the ball going in naturally and because he has such a nice seam position, he can at times roll his fingers a little bit and get the ball to nip away. So, that way, he’s very, very dangerous because you can be doubtful about where your off stump is. That’s why he is Virat's go-to man as he can give him a lot of overs,” the right-arm quick concluded.

With a win in the Lord’s Test match, India has gone 1-0 up in this five-match Test series with the third Test to be played at Headingley in Leeds from 25 August.

(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)

By Swapnil Shireesh Javkhedkar - 20 Aug, 2021

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