Fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who bagged seven wickets, was the pick of the Indian bowlers as Virat Kohli-led Team India came excruciatingly close to winning the opening Test of the five-match series against England at Edgbaston. Ishant picked up his 8th five-for in the longest format of the game to restrict England to 180 in their second innings, leaving a tricky target of 194 runs for the visitors. Chasing 194, India suffered a batting collapse that was reminiscent of their batting failures four years ago. However, former India pacer Ashish Nehra is of the view that the bowling unit spearheaded by seasoned Ishant Sharma is extremely potent.
“In the first Test match we managed to pick 20 wickets and, more importantly, somebody like Ishant Sharma – leading from the front after playing so many Test matches – that was good to see,” Nehra told.
“We have a huge number of options, but the more important thing is quality. We have 6-7 fast bowlers and one or two come in behind also and they have quality,” he said.
“Mohammed Shami was struggling with injuries, not easy to come back, and bowled his heart out (in the first Test). We have Umesh Yadav, who has heaps of talent. You have JaspritBumrah, who has done so well, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who has been injured, but in One Dayers he is your number one guy,” he added.
