IND vs ENG, 3rd Test: Out of rhythm Ishant Sharma hurts India’s plans
So far, it has been an unforgettable test match for India, and even more so for Ishant Sharma, the most experienced cricketer in the visiting ranks.
On his fourth full tour of England, the 32-year-old quick has looked more past than the present and that has only raised doubts over his future.
Ishant did pick four wickets at Lord’s but has looked slack at Headingley. Unlike the past, he has laboured to the crease and his awry wrist position has only resulted in him lacking control and that has meant more scoring opportunities for the home team’s batsmen.
Ishant bowled 22 overs in England’s first innings — seven on Day 1 and the rest on Thursday giving away 92 runs. He didn’t send down a single maiden or pick a wicket and captain Virat Kohli, on both days, never used the lanky quick for more than four overs at a stretch.
On Wednesday, Ishant bowled two spells and on Day 3 his 15 overs were divided into five spells. Interestingly, despite his troubles, Kohli chose to toss the new ball to Ishant, who took nine balls to complete the first over and it did become a talking point.
“Ishant obviously a big fan of @thehundred, keen to bowl 10 first up #IndvsEng,” tweeted New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham.
It wasn’t an ideal start for a team that was dismissed for 78. Cricketers, present and former, were left surprised and some were more than happy to take a dig.Former England captain Michael Vaughan while speaking to BBC said, “You are looking at the start of the day’s play. Ishant Sharma was by far the worst Indian seamer yesterday (Wednesday). You start with him the next day, in an hour that you must win, you (should) surely go to your best bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. Shami didn’t take the new ball yesterday for whatever reason. And Virat will have to answer it and he will have to answer it quite heavily,” Vaughan told the Test Match Special podcast.
Mohammed Shami, who picked three wickets in England’s first innings, stood up for his senior bowling partner.
“Sometimes the ball doesn’t come out well off the bowler’s hands or if the team has been on the field for a long time, the captain starts giving short spells of 3-4 overs. You don’t need to bowl 7-8 over spells consistently in Test matches,” said Shami.
