In the first Test against England in Edgbaston India’s most experienced bowler Ishant Sharma make amends after being labelled as 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, losing five of the six previous games.
“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,” he told reporters.
“Losing five wickets does not mean much. You saw how we got their batsmen out quickly, but one partnership does happen. So, this small chase can happen quite easily.”
The pacer 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.
“Playing County made a huge difference. In a way, I was disappointed (not playing IPL 2018), but it was good for me. I played for Sussex and bowled with the Dukes ball. 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.”
