Mohammed Shami becomes India's leading wicket-taker in World Cups

India are through to the semi-finals of the 2023 Cricket World Cup with a humungous win. Unfortunately, it was Sri Lanka again. In Match 33, they suffered a 302-run defeat against India.

Their demoralizing defeat logged a few unwanted records, and the unstoppable Mohammed Shami forced himself into some more records:

Shami goes past Zaheer Khan & Javagal Srinath

- With 45 wickets in just 14 innings, Shami is now the leading wicket-taker for India in ODI World Cup history, surpassing Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath. 

- The five-wicket-haul against Sri Lanka was Shami's third in the World Cup, the joint-most alongside Mitchell Starc but several fewer matches.

- Overall, in ODIs, this was Shami's fourth five-for, the most by an Indian, going past Harbhajan Singh and Srinath. 

- This was Shami's seventh four-plus wicket haul in WC, the most for a bowler, after equalling Starc's tally of six only in the last match against England.

- In the three matches Shami has played in this WC, he has bagged 14 wickets at an average of 6.7, an economy of 4.5, and a bowling strike rate of 9.4. 

- The 14 wickets he bagged are the most in three successive innings for India in ODIs. Guess who had the record before? 👇

- Shami's spells in the last three innings read: 5/18 (SL), 4/22 (ENG) & 5/54 (NZ). This is the second time in his ODI career that he has picked up four-plus wicket hauls in three consecutive matches. Among Indians, Narendra Hirwani is the only other bowler to scalp four-plus wicket hauls in three successive games. 

Indian bowlers were way too hot for Sri Lanka to handle  

- Jasprit Bumrah started the innings with a wicket on his first ball, making him the first Indian bowler to pick up a wicket on the first ball of a World Cup innings.

- Mohammed Siraj added to Sri Lanka's misery by picking up a wicket on the first ball of the second over. By virtue of this, Siraj and Bumrah became the first opening pair in ODIs to snaffle a wicket on their first legitimate delivery (where ball data is available). 

- Both Sri Lankan openers, Pathum Nissanka & Dimuth Karunaratne, registered a golden duck, only the fourth ODI innings in which both openers have suffered this dreaded fate.

- Among the top four, three batters were out for a duck in Sri Lanka's innings, the joint-most for them in ODIs. Coincidentally, the other instance also came against India - in the 2003 World Cup in Jo'Burg. 

- Four batters out of the top seven recorded ducks for Sri Lanka in this innings, the joint-most in a World Cup. Canada against Sri Lanka in 2003 and Sri Lanka against India in the same year are the other two innings. 

- Sri Lanka were 14/6 at the end of the first ten overs. This was the third-worst start for any team in the World Cup history and the worst for a full-member nation (Since 1999 in 50-over both side games)

- In back-to-back matches against India, Sri Lanka lost six wickets inside the first ten overs. However, this was their worst start ever in ODIs (where ball data is available). In the 2023 Asia Cup final, they were 31/6, and against South Africa in 2012, they were 23/6.

- The top five batters combined to score only two runs, courtesy of Kusal Mendis (1) and Charith Asalanka (1). These are the least runs scored by the top five batters in an ODI innings. 

- This was the fourth innings in which Sri Lanka were dismissed for less than 100 this year, the most for a team in a calendar year in ODIs.

- Their total of 55 is the lowest total by a full-member nation in the World Cup. Bangladesh held the record previously when they had scored only 58 runs against West Indies in 2011 in Mirpur. 

- India's 302-run margin win against Sri Lanka is the fourth-biggest win in ODIs and the second-biggest in the World Cup. Australia logged a 309-run win against the Netherlands earlier in the tournament, the biggest. 

- India became the first team in ODIs to register two 300+ run margin wins in ODIs. The other occasion also came against Sri Lanka in 2023 in Thiruvananthapuram (317 runs - the biggest in history).

Few other stats

- With this win, Virat Kohli has won 308 international matches for India, the most for an Indian and third most overall (Ricky Ponting - 337 & Mahela Jayawardene - 336).

- This was the 13th consecutive World Cup innings in which Bumrah had a wicket to his name, the most for an Indian, surpassing Zaheer's tally of 12. 

- Kohli has registered 1000+ runs across eight years in ODIs, the most by a batter. 

- Dilshan Madushanka became the first Sri Lankan bowler to bag a five-for against India in WC. His figures were the fifth-best for Sri Lanka in the coveted tournament. 

- The left-arm pacer conceded 80 runs for his five wickets. These are the second-most runs conceded by a bowler in a five-for. Adil Rashid, against West Indies in 2019, gave away 85 runs for his five wickets.  

- Shreyas Iyer reached 2000 ODI runs in just 49 innings, the third-fastest by an Indian. Shubman Gill reached the landmark in 38 innings, and Shikhar Dhawan took 48 innings.