‘Playing only in Dubai definitely helped us’: Mohammed Shami after India’s Champions Trophy semi-final win | Cricket News
Following his team’s Champions Trophy semi-final win over Australia in Dubai on Tuesday, India seamer Mohammed Shami said they benefitted from playing at only one venue in the eight-team tournament. Shami, who opened the campaign with a five-wicket haul against Bangaldesh, was the pick of the bowlers for India in the semi-final against Australia as he snapped three wickets (3/48) in his 10 overs against Steve Smith’s side.
While several cricketers from other teams have raised the question of India’s unfair leverage in playing their games only at the UAE venue due to the sour geo-political relations with tournament hosts Pakistan, team India captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir had downplayed the critics.
The veteran Shami, however, suggested otherwise.
“It definitely helped us because we know the conditions and the behaviour of the pitch,” Shami said on Tuesday after his pivotal role in beating Australia.
“It is a plus point that you are playing all the matches at one venue,” added Shami with India holding an unbeaten record in Dubai, winning nine of the 10 matches they have played besides a tie.
As part of the hybrid arrangement of the tournament, South Africa were forced to travel to Dubai, only to return to Pakistan again less than 24 hours later without playing a game.
Coach Gambhir would later lambast critics for their undue advantage remark on India’s Dubai camping.
“There’s a lot of debate about the undue advantage and all that. What undue advantage? We haven’t practiced here even for a day. We’re practicing at the ICC Academy. And the conditions there and here are 180 degrees different. If you look at the wickets there and here, the difference is between the ground and the sky. Some people are just perpetual cribbers, man. They’ve got to grow up. So, I feel that there was nothing like we had any undue advantage or we had planned something like that,” Gambhir said.
– With AFP inputs
