They say 'What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger'. That while some lack the conviction to fight when faced with trying times, others use the hardships thrown their way as a foundry to harden their resolve and come out the other end tougher and shinier than before.

Indian pacer Mohammed Shami falls in the second category. After all the misery he endured, which included troubles of both personal and physical nature, the 30-year-old can proudly carry a badge of honour which not only represents his steely resolve but also sets an archetype.  

Shami’s influx to the biggest stage came two years after making his ODI debut (2013). Taking the center stage alongside Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma (who replaced the injured Ishant Sharma in the team), the 28-year-old formed a formidable partnership along with Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma as India looked to march towards their third World Cup. Although the dream wasn’t achieved, several milestones were set.

Mohammed Shami joins an elite club as he becomes the ninth player to take a hat-trick in men's World Cups! #CWC19 | #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/X3wWKCa90B

�?Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 22, 2019

For Shami, a four-wicket haul against Pakistan in the 2015 World Cup was arguably the perfect head start for what was about to come. As India went on to dismantle their opponent en route to reaching the semi-final, Shami took 17 wickets in mere six games.

Meanwhile, India’s exit from the grand tournament against Australia was marred by the revelation that the pacer was actually playing through a niggle in his knee the whole time. He was forced to have knee surgery soon after, which kept him out of the sport for almost a year and a half. And it seemed those vexations had no end whatsoever.

After an injury-hit tenure, personal setbacks were waiting right at the door, and before he even got his head out of it, a failed Yo-Yo test in June 2018 left him in the middle of nowhere. Situations like these offer just two getaways: Crib about it until it gets the better of you or crawl up to the point where everything seems reachable. As for the pacer, he knew it was always going to be the latter.

“It wasn't only about failing Yo-Yo test. There are times when your rhythm goes for a toss. I failed, that's a separate thing but then, I have worked hard and improved my fitness. I feel I am in a good zone now as I have lost weight, got (into a) rhythm and everything is working for me.�?/p>

Yet, despite showcasing everything he had, he arrived at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup as only the third-choice pacer for India after Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. But as the latter started failing to cope with the fitness, Shami was brought into contention. And with no pressure to bear, Shami returned the favour in a perfect way possible; a 4-40 against Afghanistan. That was the time where he became only the second Indian to grab a World Cup hat-trick after Chetan Sharma.

Another four-for in the subsequent game, against West Indies, made him the quickest player to reach 25 wickets in the World Cup. As things stand for the paceman, his record in the World Cup reads 31 wickets in 11 games at an average and economy of 15.70 and 5.06 respectively. And despite a record as glorious as this, a notion persisted that he is an expensive bowler, particularly in the death overs. And the irony is, barring the game against the host in 2019 where he picked five, the only World Cup fixture where the pacer failed to take a wicket, India lost the game.

4/35 vs Pak 2015

2/30 vs SA 2015

3/35 vs WI 2015

3/41 vs Ire 2015

3/48 vs Zim 2015

2/37 vs Ban 2015

0/68 vs Aus 2015

4/40 vs Afg 2019

4/16 vs WI 2019

5/69 vs Eng 2019

1/68 vs Ban 2019

And when quipped about the credits of this turnaround, the 28-year-old mentioned himself ahead of everyone. “Yes, I thank the Almighty for giving me the strength to fight everything - from family issues to fitness. I am now only focused on doing well for my country,�?said Shami after defeating West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester on Thursday.

Well, you just couldn’t agree more, can you?

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @CricketWorldCup

Skipper Virat Kohli's gritty half-century and an incisive bowling performance powered India to a comprehensive 125-run win over West Indies on Thursday, all but assuring them of a spot in the World Cup semi-finals.

Kohli top-scored with 72 to lay the foundations for India's 268 for seven after electing to bat first at Manchester's Old Trafford.

The Indian bowlers, led by paceman Mohammed Shami, then dismissed West Indies for 143 in 34.2 overs to end the West Indies' hopes of progressing.

India, who have displaced England as the top-ranked one-day team, remain the only unbeaten side in the tournament and need just one victory from their remaining three league games to guarantee a semi-finals berth.

West Indies joined Afghanistan and South Africa as the three teams to bow out of the race for the final four so far.

"We can't complain, we have just become the number one side in the world and we have been playing like that for a while now," said captain and man-of-the-match Kohli.

"Things hadn't gone our way with the bat in the last few games but we have found a way to win."

Shami, who took a hat-trick in the previous game, returned figures of 4-16, removing the dangerous Chris Gayle early after a scratchy innings from the opener.

But it was Kohli who set up the win as he became fastest batsman to reach 20,000 international runs in his 417th innings -- India's Sachin Tendulkar and Caribbean batsman Brian Lara both required 453 international innings to reach the landmark.

Wicketkeeper-batsman M.S. Dhoni and Hardik Pandya boosted the total, putting on 70 runs for the sixth wicket to punish the otherwise-disciplined bowlers.

Pandya hit 46 off 38 balls while Dhoni remained unbeaten on 56, ending the innings with a big six.

The West Indies bowlers, led by paceman Kemar Roach, had kept India in check until the latter stages, stemming the flow of runs with regular wickets.

Roach returned impressive figures of 3-36 in his 10 overs, including the wicket of India opener Rohit Sharma for 18.

Kohli, whose 82-ball knock included eight boundaries, extended his fine run of form with some eye-catching shots that charmed a partisan crowd at Old Trafford.

West Indies were in trouble early in their reply when Gayle mistimed a short ball from Shami and was caught by Kedar Jadhav to the left of mid-on after struggling to just six runs off 19 balls.

Shai Hope tried to take the Shami on and hit him for a boundary but the bowler responded by rattling his stumps with the next ball as West Indies slipped to 16-2.

It was all downhill from there for a struggling Caribbean side who failed to maintain momentum after their opening World Cup win against Pakistan.

Paceman Jasprit Bumrah and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets each.

West Indies captain Jason Holder said: "The bowlers did a fantastic job on this surface. I couldn't ask for more but we let ourselves down with the bat.

"We didn't seize the moment but I would have taken chasing 268. We didn't do it.

"We have let ourselves down significantly in this tournament. The bowlers had a reasonable campaign but our batting has been too inconsistent. This is our weakest format of the three."

Two-time champions India next play hosts England in Birmingham on Sunday.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ @cricketworldcup

Virat Kohli on Thursday became the fastest batsman to reach 20,000 international runs as he anchored India's innings against the West Indies in the World Cup match in Manchester.

Kohli reached the landmark in his 417th innings with a single off West Indies skipper Jason Holder �?India's Sachin Tendulkar and Caribbean batsman Brian Lara both required 453 international innings to reach the landmark.

The West Indies bowlers, led by paceman Kemar Roach, kept India in check with regular wickets.

Kohli's team reached 148 for four in 30 overs after electing to bat first at Old Trafford.

Roach struck in the sixth over to have Rohit Sharma controversially caught behind off a delivery that pitched on a good length and jagged back sharply into the right-handed batsman.

The on-field umpire gave Sharma not out but the West Indies successfully reviewed the decision, with technology appearing to indicate a spike in sound as the ball squeezed through the gap between bat and pad.

Sharma was surprised and disappointed as he walked back to the dressing room.

"That was a tricky decision, even with the amount of replays you can have, to be 100 percent sure it's either one or the other," England Test bowler James Anderson told the BBC.

KL Rahul was the next to fall, for 48, bowled by a sharp in-cutter from Holder.

Roach came roaring in during his second spell to have Vijay Shankar caught behind for 14 and then sent back Kedar Jadhav with a delivery that pitched and straightened.

Jadhav was given not out only for the West Indies to successfully review the decision.

Kohli completed his fourth successive fifty in the tournament and was joined by wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni at the crease.

Defeat for West Indies, who have only won one of their six matches, would snuff out their already remote chances of reaching the semi-finals.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ @cricketworldcup

It’s not the start India would have hoped for. Against a West Indian bowling line-up that has been impressive in their opening spells so far in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul resorted to a cautious approach and took their time to read the West Indies�?new ball bowlers, Sheldon Cottrell and Kemar Roach.

Rohit, in particular, was steady in reading Cottrell before going gung-ho. With a four and a six already in his kitty, the Mumbai batsman was beginning to open up against the quicks when he seemed to knick a full-pitched delivery from Roach into the hands of wicket-keeper Shai Hope. Though umpire Richard Illingworth didn’t see enough to rule him out, the Windies side chose to refer the decision to the third umpire. But what followed had many scratching their heads.

Michael Gough, the third umpire went on to ask Illingworth to reverse his decision even though Rohit looked to have left a gap between bat and pad as the ball sneaked through. And it was no surprise that the fans were soon up in arms against the decision.

While some questioned the law and its implementation:

Just curious, how is that conclusive evidence that the ball hit bat first and not the pad? There's enough doubt there, no? Shouldn't the umpire be sticking with the on-field decision?#INDvWI #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/Uu3YKS3a4Z

�?Vinayakk (@vinayakkm) June 27, 2019

Some chose to vent on the social media platform:

Absolutely 3rd Grade decision from @ICC 3rd umpire to give #RohitSharma out #IndvsWI #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/ARzw6VjwJW

�?Raj Ambike/रा�?अंबिके (@Ambikeraj) June 27, 2019

On field umpires make mistakes, understandable. But how can 3rd Umpires make such mistakes. Why doesn't ICC fine umpires for poor decisions? #RohitSharma #INDvWI #INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/zZWHv7ZnJj

�?Sir Jadeja fan (@SirJadeja) June 27, 2019

Did that hit the bat or pad and was it conclusive? @ImRo45 doesn’t think so but the umpire says out and that’s what matters for the West Indies.

�?Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) June 27, 2019

Meanwhile, there was no dearth of humour, too:

#INDvsWI #CWC19
Third umpire giving decisions pic.twitter.com/cJ3YqH24S8

�?Manish �?(@Man_isssh) June 27, 2019

#CWC19 #INDvsWI

Every #TeamIndia fans to third umpire who gave out to #RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/1N4lrxJHKB

�?नादा�?परिंदे (@Gauri_doonite) June 27, 2019

Exclusive image of today's third umpire. #IndvsWI pic.twitter.com/2HCwt2Ap8M

�?Sagar (@sagarcasm) June 27, 2019

#INDvsWI #CWC19
After third umpire gave out to #RohitSharma

Every #TeamIndia fans reaction pic.twitter.com/XpJjkQ4yNb

�?नादा�?परिंदे (@Gauri_doonite) June 27, 2019

#INDvsWI

* Umpire gives a wrong decision and Rohit Sharma gets out *

Chris Gayle to Rohit Sharma : pic.twitter.com/DDftWfkaOD

�?Roshan Rai (@RoshanKrRai) June 27, 2019

Some even went the distance to edit third umpire Michael Gough’s Wikipedia page.

Screengrab from Wikipedia

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ @cricketworldcup

Skipper Virat Kohli scored his fourth successive half-century at the World Cup to lay the foundations for India's 268 for seven against West Indies in Manchester on Thursday.

Kohli made 72 as he became the fastest batsman to reach 20,000 international runs in his 417th innings �?India's Sachin Tendulkar and Caribbean batsman Brian Lara both required 453 international innings to reach the landmark.

Wicketkeeper-batsman MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya boosted the total, putting on 70 runs for the sixth wicket to punish the otherwise-disciplined bowlers in the last 10 overs.

Pandya hit 46 off 38 balls while Dhoni remained unbeaten on 56, ending the innings with a big six.

The West Indies bowlers, led by paceman Kemar Roach, had kept India in check until the latter stages, stemming the flow of runs with regular wickets after being asked to field.

Roach returned impressive figures of 3-36 in his 10 overs, including the wicket of Indian opener Rohit Sharma for 18.

West Indies captain Jason Holder and fellow quick Sheldon Cottrell took two wickets each.

Kohli, whose 82-ball knock included eight boundaries, extended his fine run of form with some eye-catching shots that charmed a partisan crowd at Old Trafford.

He played a delightful wristy flick for a boundary off Holder, only to give a simple catch to midwicket off the next ball.

Kohli, who registered his 53rd ODI fifty in his 232nd ODI match, built crucial partnerships including a 69-run second wicket stand with KL Rahul, who made 48.

Earlier, Roach struck in the sixth over to have Sharma controversially caught behind off a delivery that pitched on a good length and jagged back sharply into the right-handed batsman.

The on-field umpire gave Sharma not out but the West Indies successfully reviewed the decision, with technology appearing to indicate a spike in sound as the ball squeezed through the gap between bat and pad.

Sharma was surprised and disappointed as he walked back to the dressing room.

Roach came roaring in during his second spell to have Vijay Shankar caught behind for 14 and then sent back Kedar Jadhav with a delivery that pitched and straightened.

Jadhav was given not out but the West Indies successfully reviewed.

But Dhoni, who survived a missed stumping chance on seven off Fabian Allen, and Pandya combined to give India impetus in the closing stages.

Defeat for West Indies, who have only won one of their six matches, would snuff out their already remote chances of reaching the semi-finals.

Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ @ICC

West Indies captain Jason Holder says he is proud of his players but wants them to put everything together in a "perfect" World Cup performance against India.

The two-time champions opened their campaign with a convincing victory against Pakistan but have not won since and, barring an unlikely sequence of results, will be heading home after the group phase.

Batsmen Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran and Carlos Brathwaite have shown glimpses of what they can offer but have failed to win games for the team.

Brathwaite hit his maiden one-day international century in West Indies' ultimately fruitless chase of a target of 292 against New Zealand on Saturday.

Holder urged his team to show fight on Thursday against Virat Kohli's unbeaten side, who look certain to reach the semi-finals.

"We've shown glimpses here and there of what we can produce. And as a side we just haven't brought it together collectively more often than not," Holder said at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

"And it's hurt us in games before. So tomorrow is another opportunity for us to bring it all together and play a perfect game."

The West Indies' World Cup hopes were hit by injuries to Evin Lewis and Andre Russell, who has been replaced by Sunil Ambris in the squad, but Holder said the batsmen should step up despite the problems.

"Injuries have definitely plagued us. But I've been proud of them so far. I think for them it's just a matter for them to grasp batting on the international circuit," said Holder.

"And I think Shai has done a reasonable job so far. Hety (Hetmyer) has shown glimpses of brilliance, as well as Nicholas. It's up to them to take it deeper. They've got to be the rock and soul for our team.

"And they've got to set up games and learn to close them out. And a guy who has done that over the tournament is (New Zealand captain) Kane Williamson."

West Indies are languishing in eighth spot in the 10-team table with just three points as the group stage nears its conclusion.

"In terms of the squad, I think everybody's upbeat for the occasion. Playing India is always a big game for West Indies, and we're looking forward to it," said Holder.

"First we need to finish the campaign as best as we can. And our objective is to win all three games."

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / WindiesCricket

Virat Kohli and his men will aim to continue their unbeaten start to the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup when they take on West Indies on Thursday, June 27, at a packed Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester. While India have been spectacular so far at the World Cup, Windies have failed to register a win after their opening game demolition of Pakistan and need a victory to stay alive in the competition.

It took a brilliant final over hattrick by Mohammed Shami to get the Indian team over the line in a thrilling contest against Afghanistan. That game exposed a few frailties of the Indian middle-order as a few quick wickets forced Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav to play cautiously. India’s batting innings thus ended with a subpar score of 224. However, the pace battery of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami hit the right notes on the night and will be key to India’s defence against the Windies. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav was economical but failed to pick up any wickets and heading into Manchester, he would be aiming to get amongst the wickets column.

West Indies have blown hot and cold at this World Cup, with either their bowlers or batsmen performing below expectations after their first game heroics. Chris Gayle and Carlos Braithwaite will aim to carry on from their previous game performance against New Zealand, where they almost got their side across despite most of the batsmen failing to deliver. On the bowling front, Sheldon Cottrell has been the marquee pacer and heading into Thursday, he’d hope for the likes of Jason Holder and Oshane Thomas to bring the best to the field.

India start the game as firm favourites due to their balanced team with in-form batsmen like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli leading from the front. Nevertheless, the Men in Maroon cannot be underestimated, with batsmen like Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer capable of destroying any bowling attack on their day. In the other camp, India would have a selection headache choosing between hattrick man Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was seen training earlier in the week. Also, either of Dinesh Karthik or Rishabh Pant could be brought into the fray in place of Vijay Shankar to stabilize the middle-order.

Feature image courtesy: Cricket World Cup/ Twitter

Mohammed Shami has given Indian team bosses a "good headache" after replacing fellow paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar and taking four wickets, the team's bowling coach said on Wednesday.

Shami claimed a hat-trick in India's narrow win over minnows Afghanistan on Saturday as the two-time champions stayed unbeaten to close in on a semi-final spot.

But the paceman's place in the starting line-up will not be certain once Kumar, who sat out the Afghanistan game with a hamstring strain and was expected to miss two or three matches, regains full fitness.

Virat Kohli's India take on struggling West Indies in Manchester on Thursday and bowling coach Bharat Arun said the make-up of the team would depend on conditions.

"Bhuvneshwar's injury is not of any great concern. It is just a niggle, which we didn't want to take a chance on," Arun said.

"And it was also an opportunity for us to plug Shami into the games. But the fact he's done exceptionally well all goes well for us. It's an embarrassment of riches.

"And we would take a call as per the conditions, but Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar) has done exceptionally well, so I think it's a pretty good headache to have."

The 28-year-old Shami is back at the top of his game after dealing with weight issues, injury and a legal quarrel with his estranged wife over the past two years.

He returned figures of 4-40 in Southampton and ended the Afghanistan innings with a hat-trick after being given the responsibility to bowl the final over.

India are familiar with the West Indies, with many of the Caribbean team playing in the Indian Premier League.

"They (West Indies batsmen) do have their strengths. And also it's a big challenge for the bowlers too -- especially when they come after you," said Arun.

"But whenever batsmen come after you, if you're willing to look at it deeply, there is a chance in it for the bowlers, and I think that's what the bowlers would be looking to do."

Feature image courtesy: Twitter / CricketWorldCup