Mohammed Shami will be eager to give another strong account of his fitness when Bengal take on Baroda in the quarterfinals of SMAT on Wednesday.
Credit: DH Photo/ SK Dinesh
Bengaluru: It isn't missed on the residents that Karnataka are not in the knockouts of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, more so because this entire leg is happening in and around Bengaluru. But now the focus is broader.
Mohammed Shami's fitness is front and centre of a collective Indian interest as they hope and pray that he is fit enough to travel to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and potentially make a difference to India's campaign Down Under.
For that, the speedster will need to continue to do what he has been doing with Bengal since he started off the tournament, and it won't matter more than it will on Wednesday as they look to put Baroda away in the quarterfinals at the M Chinnaswamy stadium in the day's first game.
Baroda have been one of the better teams in the tournament, having topped Group B with six victories in seven games, including a world-record effort when they scored 349 for 5 against Sikkim in their previous fixture.
Bengal finished on top of the Group A table with an identical record, but their campaign has not been nearly as breezy as Baroda. In fact, even in the previous game against Chandigarh on Tuesday, they only just managed to cross the line with a three-wicket victory.
All along, Shami's fitness was in focus. Shami, since recovering from an injury, has played one Ranji Trophy game where he bowled 42.3 overs and eight SMAT games, accounting for 31.3 overs. In all, he has bowled 64 overs for 16 wickets, and not once has he looked out of sorts.
There have been some reports about swelling in the knees, but he seems to be coming along just fine.
Speaking of which, Krunal Pandya's Baroda have looked about as clinical as they can, putting up all-round shows in each of their seven fixtures. They did have some trouble containing teams, but the bowlers, when under the pump, have learnt how to change up their lengths and operate with more stringency.
Quarterfinal line-up: At Alur: Madhya Pradesh vs Saurashtra (9 am); Mumbai vs Vidarbha (1.30 pm).
At M Chinnaswamy stadium: Baroda vs Bengal (11 am); Delhi vs Uttar Pradesh (4.30 pm).