Shami’s like a leopard going for a kill: Sunil Gavaskar

India added another iconic win to their World Cup tally as the Men in Blue trumped England comprehensively to make it six out of six from the group stages. Mohammed Shami proved to be crucial to the Indian plans once again as he razed through the England batting unit, propelling India to a remarkable 100-run win.

This was Shami’s second impressive spell in the World Cup on a trot as he claimed a crucial fifer against New Zealand, chastening them to a defeat in the process. With nine wickets from two games in the tournament, he has surpassed names who have been playing for all the six games so far and the experts have been in utter awe of Shami.

Speaking to India Today, former Indian captain, Sunil Gavaskar said, “There is a lot of hard work there. When he goes back home, he has got several pitches made apparently, and he just bowls and bowls over there. That is what is important. He is looking at his personal cricketing fitness. What is his specialty? It's fast bowling. By bowling a number of overs in the nets where he stays. I don't know whether he is a gym person. You can be doing gym all day. But at the end of the day... Mohammed Shami is doing exactly what Kapil Dev used to do, just bowl and bowl in the nets.”

Shami bagged the crucial scalps of Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid to allow India keep the English batters down while his fifer against New Zealand was another imperious show of dominion as the Men in Blue were all over the Kiwis.

Gavaskar further added, “He is not listening to all your bio-mechanic experts who might say 'oh no, no bowl only 15-20 deliveries in the nets'. He knows that as a fast bowler, he really needs a lot more mileage in his legs as he runs in to bowl. "He is showing it. And the rhythm, it gets so good. When he is running into bowl, and when the drone camera captures it, he looks like a cheetah or a leopard going for the kill. It's a fantastic sight.”