Before "Southampton Weather" became a hot search on Google and a four-seam attack was up for debate, India had only one decision to make before this final: the composition of their fast bowling troika. Ishant Sharma, the most experienced of the lot, is the banker who bowls the dirty overs in Test cricket, Jasprit Bumrah is the x-factor who can attack and defend. The asterisk strangely, and briefly, hovered over Mohammed Shami.

For someone with his abilities, Shami still carries an equivocal record, especially away from home. Waqar Younis is the only Asian fast bowler with a better strike rate (40.8) than him (49.7) after 50 Tests. Among Indians, not even Kapil Dev (29.64) matches his average (27.40) after the said 50 Tests. However, Shami's strike rates and average spike in first innings of Tests and away from home, he concedes 10 more runs per wicket than his average.

That is a worry because, at home, India's high-class spinners bowl the majority of the overs and a fast bowler can afford to attack in short, intense bursts. In Vizag in 2019, Shami would even step into the change rooms for a quick ice bath and back out for another burst. India will not have the same luxuries overseas and they will not always sit on the cushion of big runs from their batsmen. Here in Southampton, for example, they had only 116 runs to play with for the vital first-innings advantage and two other quicks who were efficient without always being effective. So Shami remained on standby for his spell by the fine-leg boundary, a towel wrap helping him stay warm.

He had came