Mohammed Shami sets new record with career-best 6 for 56 in Perth Test
Mohammed Shami bagged a career-best 6 for 56 to lead India's fightback on day four of the second Test against Australia in Perth on Monday. Shami helped India reduce Australia for 243 in the second innings, setting the visitors a daunting target of 287 runs to win.
Shami's explosive figures are his best in Test cricket, surpassing his previous best of 5/28 against South Africa in Johannesburg earlier this year.
This was also Shami's fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
The pacer from Bengal now holds the record of most wickets in a calender year by an Indian fast bowler. In 11 Tests, Shami has taken 44 wickets, including two five-fors.
Resuming on 190-4 after lunch, Australia lost 4-6 off 23 balls with Shami taking 3-5 in eight balls.
It was an outstanding effort by Shami in his 38th Test after going wicketless in Australia's 326 all out in the first innings. It was only the fourth time he has taken five wickets in an innings.
Earlier, resuming the day on 132-4, Khawaja and Paine weathered the deteriorating pitch and fiery fast bowling as they added 58 runs to their fifth wicket stand before lunch.
Shami dismissed Paine and opener Aaron Finch with successive balls and was on a hat-trick in the next over, only to be thwarted by Pat Cummins.
Shami began the slide by ending the 72-run fifth wicket union when Paine gloved a short delivery to second slip Kohli off the third ball after lunch.
Opener Aaron Finch, forced to retire hurt on day three after being hit on the hand by Shami, gloved a legside catch to wickletkeeper Rishabh Pant, without adding to his score of 25.
Khawaja, who had batted defiantly for five hours, succumbed to a Shami delivery that flew off the surface, and gloved it to Pant. Khawaja hit five fours off 213 balls.
Soon after, Jasprit Bumrah bowled Cummins with a ball that kept alarmingly low, hinting at how difficult batting last on this pitch would be for India.
Nathan Lyon took a blow on the face of his helmet off Shami, which required attention from the side's medical team, and fell off the next ball, hitting a catch to Murali Vijay to give Shami his sixth wicket.
