Indian pacer Mohammad Shami made a memorable comeback in the Ranji Trophy by taking four wickets to give Bengal a first innings lead over Madhya Pradesh at the Holkar Stadium. On Thursday, the 34-year-old pacer, playing his first Ranji Trophy match since 2018, showed his class and experience as Bengal’s standout bowler with figures of 4-54 in 19 overs. completed After going wicketless on the first day, the Syrians came back with a vengeance on the second day. He struck early, dismissing MP skipper Shubham Sharma for just eight with a trademark delivery that rocked the stumps.

Shami’s ability to break partnerships and finish the lower order was on full display, as he later came back to clean up the tail. In a disastrous spell, he bowled Saranish Jain and dismissed Kumar Karthikeya and Khulwant Khajrulia in consecutive balls, leaving the hosts in trouble.

The veteran fast bowler’s performance helped Bengal take a crucial first innings lead of 61 runs, kicking off their campaign. Despite not bowling at full pace, Shami continued to trouble the MP batsmen, including hitting key batsman Rajat Patidar’s edge several times.

He was seen bowling along with his brother Mohammad Kaif. Shami is coming to this Ranji Trophy match after a gap of five years. His last match for Bengal was the one-off against Kerala in November 2018, just before India’s historic 2-1 Test series victory in Australia. During this Border-Gavaskar series, Shami played a pivotal role, taking 16 wickets.

As Shami eyes a return to peak fitness, his strong ring performance could pave the way for a return to India’s squad for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia starting on November 22 in Perth.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)