Veteran Indian pacer Ishant Sharma recalled smashing his maiden Test fifty against the West Indies way back in 2019 at Kingston and how he faced teasing from his teammate Virat Kohli, who jokingly asked him to just “play the ball” as well. Ishant shared this hilarious banter and his milestone in international cricket on the official X handle of the Gujarat Titans (GT).

Speaking on his half-century, Ishant said, “Oh, that is a special one. Scoring my first 50 against the West Indies. I was very relaxed. I think that was in Jamaica. I was very relaxed, talking to Virat, putting my feet up on the table. And he said, what are you going to do? I said, I’m going to bat. I said, I’m going to score runs. He was laughing and said, “Abbey jaa na”. Obviously, being a Delhi boy, we played together since childhood. Under 17s, we started playing together. And then he said, go man, just stand there and play the ball. (Hanuma) Vihari will score runs.”

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Recalling his partnership, Ishant Sharma also said that he told Vihari to play his normal cricket and not to “throw his wicket”. He also shared how tired and sweaty he was after batting for 60 balls, something he did not experience much while bowling at such a fast pace as well.

“Vihari and I were batting. And then he was asking, what should I do? I said, just keep on playing normal cricket. Do not worry, I would not throw my wicket. So, we built a partnership,” he recalled. “And after 60 balls, I got tired. Then they (Indian captain etc) were saying, we are not going to declare. We want you to bat. And I am telling you guys, I never sweat that much. Even while bowling. How much I sweat after batting for 60 balls. So, it was a tough day for me after batting,” Ishant Sharma concluded.