Birthday special: Ishant Sharma – Top three spells of India’s pace stalwart
One of the finest fast bowlers to have played Test cricket for India, Ishant Sharma celebrates his 33rd birthday on Thursday (September 2). The tall and lanky fast bowler has truly been a warhorse for India over the years, and still, a lot of fuel is left in his tank. Ishant’s cricket journey has been all about evolution as we have witnessed several different versions of the fast bowler.
At 19, the Delhi-born pacer burst onto scenes with his ability to clock good speeds and extract bounce from the surface. Now, who can forget how he tormented Ricky Ponting in the 2007-08 Test series down under? There have been times when Ishant’s wicket-taking ability has been questioned. However, his graph has significantly gone upwards in the last few years.
So far, Ishant has scalped 311 wickets in 104 Tests and this tally is set to enhance further. Mostly known for his heroics in the longest format, the star pacer also has 115 ODI wickets as well. As the veteran pacer turns a year older, we’ll recall some of his best performances.
Here’s a look at 3 game-changing spells of Ishant Sharma in international cricket
4/38 vs Australia in 2008
As mentioned above, Ishant made a name for himself during India’s 2007-08 tour of Australia. During the fourth game of the ODI tri-series, the then youngster breathed fire with the ball and ripped apart Australia’s potent batting line-up. The likes of Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, and Andrew Symonds couldn’t do much against Ishant as Australia got bundled out for 159 while batting first in Melbourne. The speedster registered figures of 4/38 as India walked away with a five-wicket win.
7/74 vs England in 2014
This spell has to be one of the highlights of Ishant’s Test career. It was the second Test of India’s 2014 tour of England and the venue was the iconic Lord’s. Chasing 319 for victory, the hosts were somewhat on track with their scorecard reading 173/5. However, Ishant delivered an astonishing spell and changed the course of the game. Uncharacteristic for an Indian pacer, he unleashed a bouncer barrage as England couldn’t do much. Ishant eventually had his best figures in Tests (7/74) and India won the game by 95 runs.
5/22 vs Bangladesh in 2019
Another Ishant Sharma special was witnessed during the Pink-ball Test between India and Bangladesh in 2019. It was India’s first-ever Day-Night Test and Ishant made the pink cherry talk. He bowled a spectacular spell in the first innings and took a five-wicket haul. As a result, the visitors were bowled out for 106 in Kolkata. Notably, Ishant enhanced his tally even further in the second innings, scalping a four-for. Riding on his brilliance, India won the game by an innings and 46 runs.
