Mohammad Shami put on a show with the ball in India’s five-wicket win over Australia in the first ODI at Mohali on Friday (September 22).

After India’s stand-in skipper KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bowl first, Shami instantly made an impact as he dismissed Mitchell Marsh (4) in the very first over of the game.

The right-arm seamer looked in brilliant rhythm with the new ball. He was equally efficient in the middle overs as well as in the death overs.

Shami also removed a well-set Steve Smith (41) before he demolished Australia’s lower order to return with the figures of 5/51 in his 10 overs.

Thanks to his heroics with the ball, the Men in Blue restricted the visitors to 276/10 and then chased down the target with 8 balls to spare on the back of half-centuries from Shubman Gill (74), Ruturaj Gaikwad (71), KL Rahul (58*) and Suryakumar Yadav (50).

With this five-wicket haul, Mohammad Shami has also strengthened his claims for a place in India’s World Cup XI. Notably, the senior pacer had to warm the bench in most of the Asia Cup 2023 games as India opted to go with Shardul Thakur as the seam-bowling all-rounder instead of fielding three premier fast bowlers.

Amid the debate, veteran leg-spinner Piyush Chawla has called for Shami’s inclusion in the Indian line-up during the upcoming ODI World Cup rather than Shardul.

"100% agree with you? Because if we talk about Shardul's batting also, it's not that somebody will come and give you those quick fire 30, 40 runs off 20 balls. He's a good player for a run a ball sometimes maybe like 24-ball 25 runs. And if you talk about his bowling, I agree that he has picked up wickets and he has got quite a few of them. But his economy rate is always on the high side, and if you talk about the conditions where India is going to play, most of the wicket is going to be a bit flat. So you need somebody who's like a proper bowler, who can come in one change and still bowl at the 135-140 mark," said Chawla while speaking to ESPNCricinfo.

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 is slated to get underway on October 5 in Ahmedabad with the England versus New Zealand clash. India will open their campaign against five-time champions Australia at Chepauk on October 8.