The lanky Indian pacer Ishant Sharma registered a six-wicket haul in the first Test against England in Edgbaston and he was thrilled to see his wickets column swell. It also helped India’s most experienced bowler to remove the tag of being a defensive bowler for most of his career. Ishant produced a dream spell on Friday, claiming three wickets in an over, four for 16 runs and his eighth five-wicket innings haul.
Ishant’s 6/97 helped India close in on a memorable win as the visitors, chasing 194, reached 110/5 at stumps on the third day at a venue where they have never won a Test. Talking to the reporters after the end of day’s play, Sharma said, “Actually, I got tired of the tag. I am bowling well but my wicket column has always not been very good. It feels very good because I put in a lot of work. Playing for your country and taking five wickets, that too in the second innings, feels nice.”
In his career so far, Ishant has played 50 of his 83 Tests away and claimed seven of his eight five-wicket innings haul also outside India. He is also looking forward to India’s first ever win in Birmingham.
WATCH – Ishant Sharma’s three wickets in an over
Sharma credited his County stint with Essex for his success. Ishant captured his career-best haul of 7/74 on the 2014 tour, bowling India to victory in the Lord’s Test. He said, “Playing County made a huge difference. In a way, I was disappointed (not playing IPL 2018), but it was good for me. One good thing was although I only played four matches, there were overs behind me, I bowled around 150-200 overs (he bowled 114.3 overs in the first-class games). I played one-dayers also, so the experience was really good.”
Ishant had a five-wicket haul for Sussex against Warwickshire at the Edgbaston ground and his knowledge of English conditions proved crucial. He also made a 63 for Sussex in a first-class game, and that experience showed as he supported Kohli during his century.
Talking about his batting, Sharma said, “Here the wicket doesn’t help much and when the sun comes out, there is no problem for batsmen. But when there is cloud cover, it is a big problem as the ball starts swinging. The seam stays hard for the first 40 overs, and the fewer wickets you lose in that phase, the better.”
ALSO READ: Anderson Dreaming Of Getting Virat Kohli’s Wicket
The lanky pacer concluded by praising the Indian skipper Virat Kohli for marshaling the lower order during his first innings 149, and was confident he would guide India to victory on Saturday. Kohli was 43 not out with Karthik on 18 at stumps.
Ishant concluded, “Virat paced his innings. He adapted by first working hard to get to 50 but when he made the last fifty runs, he made them in a free-flowing way. The partnerships he had with the lower order were very important. For us, DK (Dinesh Karthik) also has a positive intent. Virat made 150 in the first innings and DK got out, but he still has a positive intent.”
