After a long gap of 360 days, India’s pacer Mohammed Shami stepped out on the field in the ongoing Ranji Trophy for Bengal. Shami had an average day on the field as he failed to take any wickets in his 10-over spell against Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday. After choosing to field first, Madhya Pradesh finished the day at 103/1 after restricting Bengal to 228 in their first innings. 


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Shami who just recovered from an Achilles tendon injury, ended up with the figures of 10-1-34-0. The medical team of the BCCI has been closely supervising his fitness as he may seal the spot in the Indian team for the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia starting November 22 in Perth.


“It’s never easy to come back from a surgery and bowl after a year. The more Shami plays, the better he will become,” said Bengal coach L.R. Shukla.


Shami’s younger brother, Mohammed Kaif scalped the only wicket in Madhya Pradesh’s innings as he snared Himanshu Mantri for 13. Star batter Shubhranshu Senapati stood solid at 44 from 103 balls while  Rajat Patidar remained unbeaten on 41 off 55 balls.


“If I get fit and get a gap of 8-10 days, it’s better that I play one or two domestic matches before going to Australia. I don’t know when I can play next, but the day I feel comfortable about bowling 20-30 overs and get the nod from the doctors, I’ll run to play a match,” Shami had said.


Earlier, while batting, the top order of Bengal struggled with Shuvam Dey and Rohit Kumar dismissed for golden ducks. Sudip Chatterjee (15) and Sudip Gharami (10) also failed to make runs, leaving Bengal at 42/4. Shahbaz Ahmed came up with a solid 92 and also made a crucial stand of 96 runs with skipper Anustup Majumdar.