'I always try to bowl at right line and length' – Shami
"I always try to bowl at the right line and length. Whether or not to get the wicket depends on your luck," said Shami after the fourth day's play. "I believe that if you focus on your line and length, you will get wickets in Test cricket."
Shami, who has 44 wickets in 2018, now holds the record for the most dismissals by an India pacer for this year. The 28-year-old heaped praise on his bowling partners – Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav – saying that the bowler at the other end "is very important".
"India have got a pace bowling attack like this after long. We didn't have this experience four years ago, but now we have come here with experience," said Shami.
"You can see that in our performance. When you're bowling in tandem with your partner and you're both keeping it tight, the game turns in your favour in quick time. The bowler who bowls at the other end is very important."
Six-wicket haul and career-best figures for Mohammed Shami! 👏
— ICC (@ICC) December 17, 2018
He adds the scalp of Lyon to his list to trigger Australia's collapse after lunch. He has 6/41 for now – his best figures.
Australia 207/9, a lead of 250. #AUSvIND LIVE
➡️ https://t.co/viG01Bpvlc pic.twitter.com/iyo0AyIT2c
There have been a few exchanges between the players of both sides during the game, but Shami dismissed the talk around them, stating that aggression is "a part of the game".
"It is a part of the game. You play Test cricket for a long time, players might get carried away in the moment," he said. "If there's no sledging, you might not enjoy the game as much. When there's aggression, more people will come to watch the match."
6 wickets for Shami. His career best figures. 3 for Bumrah and 1 for Ishant. Australia 243. India require 287 to win #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/JPTmqtzguY
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 17, 2018
India unleashed an all-pace bowling attack in Perth for just the fourth time in their Test history. While Ravichandran Ashwin was ruled out due to injury, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav were benched in favour of more seam bowling options in the XI.
However, despite the surface being conducive to pace and bounce, Nathan Lyon proved to be a handful for India, clinching his 14th five-wicket haul in the game.
When asked if India should have picked a spinner for the Test, Shami said, "It is the team management's decision. We did have a spinner in Hanuma Vihari, who did a decent job with the ball. However, I think we should have had a spinner in this game."