Cricket's new home! » Ishant Sharma

Zak packs a punch, helps India seal series 2-0

prasad — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 17:50:08 +0000

Bangladesh will be rueing the fact that at 290 for 3, they had set themselves up for a sizeable total, only to squander it all in the space of 14 runs with six wickets falling like a pack of cards. Zaheer Khan was the chief destroyer as he packed a punch, bagging figures of 7 for 87, thus becoming only the fourth Indian bowler to have bagged a ten-wicket haul in Tests for India outside the country.

The morning session saw Shahadat Hossain and Mohammad Ashraful making a steady progress before the Zaheer burst struck them and how. With just two needed to seal the series win, the Indians won the contest without any problems whatsoever.

On Tuesday, Tamim Iqbal proved to be the biggest difference between the two teams on Tuesday, Day Three of the second Test as the Bangla boys fought back valiantly in the Test to ensure that they will not be facing an innings defeat and who knows, the Indians could face the heat if the hosts bat out for long on the Day Four of the Test. Tamim stroked his way to the fastest Test ton by a Bangla batsman in the history, scoring at an impressive rate to be dismisses for 151 as they ended the day at 228 for 3 with two new men at the crease.

Earlier, the Indians scored freely with skipper M.S. Dhoni managing to put up an impressive 89 before the Indians declared at 544 for 8.

India despite a setback in the form of a jaw fracture for Rahul Dravid favoured in the visitor’s favour on Day Two of the second Test at Mirpur on Monday. When stumps India were 459/5, 226 ahead of Bangladesh’s 233 with five wickets still in hand. Dravid retired hurt to a ball from Shahadat Hossain.

Despite all this happening, Sachin Tendulkar continued his march, notching up his 45th hundred in the course of a big 222-run third wicket partnership with Dravid after openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had given the Indians a flier with their seventh 100-plus association.
En route to his 68, Gambhir equalled former West Indian great Vivian Richards’ record of 11 half-centuries in consecutive Test matches but failed to match Australian legend Sir Don Bradman’s feat of six straight tons in as many matches. Barring a batting collapse from the Indians and an out-of-the-skin effort with the bat from the hosts, the tide is shifting in the favour of Indians and how.

Earlier on Day One, a chanceless knock by Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah gritty 96, the home team did not make much use of the pitch after skipper Shakib Al Hasan won the toss and elected to bat first on the first day of the second Test against India.

From a precarious position of 106 for 6, Mahmudullah waged a lone battle and took his team to a modest 233 before the Indian openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir ensured that India ended the day at 69 sans loss.

With a small but vociferous crowd cheering him on, Mahmudullah took the attack to the Indian bowlers and ensured that the visiting team was on the leather hunt for the better part of the day.
Bangladesh fell prey to hostile spells from Ishant Sharma (4/66) and Zaheer Khan (3/62) and the side were tottering at 5 for 51 before lunch that virtually sealed the fate of the hosts before Mahmudullah’s fight back.
He steadied matters to see Bangladesh past the 200 mark and some respectability, but the way the Indians batted during the 13 overs, the hosts will have a tough ask ahead.

Men in Blue seal series

prasad — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:19:41 +0000

Australian legend Ian Chappell had once said, “You tend to learn a lot when you lose than on the occasions when you win matches.” The statement did not make too much sense as Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat at the Eden Gardens, a move that was to backfire when their spinners would come to bowl under the lights. However, what started off as a sedate start soon turned into mayhem with Upul Tharanga unleashing a flurry of boundaries and pacer Ishant Sharma once again bled runs and was carted for 20 runs in an over, a true indication of his snow-diving form. But despite posting a total of 316 to chase under the lights, Virat Kohli (107) and Gautam Gambhir (150 not out) helped the hosts seal the series by seven wickets.

The task was big but with openers Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar were sent back by young Suranga Lakmal with the scorecard reading 23 in the fourth over, the total looked suddenly beyond reach. But Gautam Gambhir and young Virat Kohli dug in deep to register a famous win for the hosts.
After Upul Tharanga (118) had given Sri Lanka a platform to build towards their eventual total of 315/6, Gambhir and Kohli found boundaries at regular intervals to ensure that the required rate was kept in check.
Adding 224 runs off just 214 balls, the duo all but saw India home with with 11 balls to spare and an unassailable lead.

Kohli, 21, showed excellent maturity picking the gaps with a sublime Gambhir at the other end.

It was on consecutive balls during a Dilshan over that both reached their tons. After Kohli fell to Randiv holding out at long-on in the 40th over, Gambhir ensured the momentum wasn’t lost. With wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik (19 not out) at the other end, the southpaw ensured the scoreboard kept ticking along as India romped home.
Earlier, while strike bowlers Ashish Nehra and Zaheer Khan did their bit to keep Tillakaratne Dilshan and to a lot extent succeeded in their endeavour. The visitors changed gears when ‘pacer’ Ishant came on and the writing was on the wall. One of the most interesting comments that cricinfo.com put up was — “The opposition teams realise that there is a fourth power play available when Ishant comes to bowl his four overs!”
The lanky pacer will soon become the butt of all jokes at the rate in which he has been bowling (or the lack of it). His seven overs bled 67 runs and the Delhi lad gifted away 12 boundaries.
For the visitors, it was the turn of Upul Tharanga to score a century in the season after his opening partner Dilshan had done the honours twice already in the series. After the Cuttack debacle a few days back, the Lankans realised the importance of cutting down on rash shots and Tharanga scored his seventh century and his first in three years in what was a pleasing effort. He was cleaned up by Zaheer Khan for 118 in the 43rd over of the innings. The damage was done by that time. The visitors posted a total past 300-run mark for the third time in the series and a winning effort this time.
A late onslaught by debutant Thissara Perera who scored 31 off 14 helped skyrocket the total to 315 for 6 in the 50 overs. But, in the end, it just did not matter one bit.

Do we really require Ishant Sharma?

prasad — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:57:41 +0000

When a young tearaway fast bowler made his one-day debut against South Africa in the picturesque Ireland at the Future Cup in 2007, he immediately caught attention for his tearaway and his first outing brought figures of 7-0-38-0 with an economy of 5.42. But the by caught the nation’s attention in the third Test at Perth against the mighty Australians in January 2008, getting rid of skipper Ricky Ponting to a beauty that held its line and the Australian went on to gift his wicket many more times in the series to the lanky Indian. The Commonwealth Bank Series in 2008 was the highlight of Ishant Sharma’s career bagging 14 wickets from 9 games at an impressive average of 20.35.

However, in the nine ODI series that he has featured so far, Ishant has bagged 42 wickets in 30 games and has gone on for runs in excess of 5.5 an over on most occasions.

In the just concluded third ODI between India and Sri Lanka, Ishant went for 63 runs in his seven-over spell whilst bagging two wickets. Neither does he look menacing with his pace nor is his line threatening, but the selectors have consistently persisted with his erratic bowling. Isn’t it time for the selection committee to give the 21-year-old a break? There are many waiting in the wings such as C. Ganapathy from Tamil Nadu, Mithun who is featuring for Karnataka in the ongoing Ranji Trophy Super League competition. The criteria necessarily need to be form and match fitness—and in both cases the Delhi lad has been found wanting.

Legends of the game have in the past taken a break to reassess where their bowling or batting was and come back stronger. Even as the question of too much cricket being played rages on, the only issue that will bother a team will be the physical availability of players who are as potent as Ishant Sharma in it.

Tuesday saw Yuvraj Singh having the recurrence of the finger injury that he had sustained during the second T20 game in Mohali and is out of the final two games.

The Wall adds its 11,000th brick, Sri Lanka gives a fitting reply!

prasad — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:54:48 +0000

The familiar phase where India squandered their advantage took place on the second morning of the first Test against Sri Lanka when they were at a comfortable position going into the second day with 385 for 6 on board. Rahul Dravid who completed 11,000 runs on day one was the first to go in the morning and India folded for only 426 after showing a lot of promise for scoring much more.

In the end, it was only Dravid, skipper Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh who were the chief catalysts for India’s total.

In reply, Sri Lanka started strongly with Tillakaratne Dilshan scoring a superb century to help the visitors finish the day at 275 for 3. Dilshan was dismissed for 112 while Thilan Samaraweera (batting on 45) and Mahela Jayawardene (on 36) were at the crease.

Indians will take heart from the fact that Zaheer Khan bowled with a lot of heart on a wicket that helped those who were ready to bend their back and was supremely supported by Harbhajan Singh and Amit Mishra though there did not literally through the opposition. The

Ishant Sharma who bagged a wicket was disappointing and sprayed the ball on all sides of the wicket and its no more aberration anymore. He just has not been in the right form for the highest form of the game. Agreed, he began beautifully in the 2008 Australia series picking up the wicket of Ricky Ponting four times but has faded over the last few months. The talent is not the question here but it’s the question of temperament. His pace has dropped and the confidence is just not there. It will be difficult for the captain to drop an asset to be dropped but its high time some other of the likes of Praveen Kumar who is a genuine swing bowler to be drafted into the Test XI.

Pink Floyd would have been happy with ‘The Wall” Rahul Dravid another brick in the wall by scoring the 11,000th run in the 89th over of the day’s play as he single-handedly guided India to a imposing total after a shocking start in the against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad on Monday.

It was a day that started with the hosts winning the toss and electing to bat on a wicket that appeared juicy at the start in Ahmedabad. But MS Dhoni’s decision back-fired in the first session when Sri Lanka’s Chanaka Welegedara took three wickets in his first four overs and Dammika Prasad took one to reduce India to 32-4 within the first hour of play. With Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman back in the hut, it was left to Yuvraj Singh and ‘The Wall’ Rahul Dravid to do the repair job.

Dravid was surprisingly aggressive right from the word go, cutting, pulling and essaying those lovely cover drives with superb regularity. The Bengaluru boy hit 26 boundaries and a six in an unusually aggressive innings that saw him complete 11,000 Test runs with his final single of the day. When he had reached 105, Dravid surpassed retired former Australian captain Steve Waugh’s tally of 10,927 runs to become the fifth highest Test scorer behind Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting and Allan Border.

He first added 125 for the fifth wicket with Yuvraj Singh who made a chanceless 68 and then partnered with Dhoni (110) who scored his second Test ton to take India to a wonderful 385 for 6 at stumps on the first day.

Speaking about the innings, Dravid said, “It’s one of my most fluent efforts in the last two-three years. My feet was moving well and I felt I was in control.“When we were 32 for four, the collapse for 76 against South Africa was at the back of our minds. But we knew it was just a question of having some partnerships going, hang in there till lunch and that’s what we did,” he said. “The partnership with Yuvraj steadied the innings in the first session and then with Mahi (M.S. Dhoni) the partnership set it up,” Dravid said.

But with India not making too much on the board and with Sri Lanka forging a strong reply, the match looks evenly poised going into the third day.

Do not count the Aussies out: Hadlee

prasad — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:51:54 +0000

He may not boast of an express pace which his yesteryear contemporaries — Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Dennis Lillee enjoyed, but Sir Richard Hadlee had the gift of relentlessly pursuing a tidy line and length that fetched him 431 Test victims off just 86 matches.
In the city to launch the Apollo Knee Clinic facility, Hadlee stressed on the role of knees in the life of a fast bowler. “Fast bowlers tend to often suffer from niggles in their knees. The reason for that is — they run fast and land on their knees. Year after year, when you play, it does tend to hurt that part of the body. So, it becomes important for the fast bowlers to take care of it. If there is a problem, show it to a specialist and get it fixed,” the 58-year-old stressed.
Amongst the current crop of fast bowlers in the world, Hadlee pointed at Ishant Sharma as the one to watch out for. “It is crucial for India to preserve a talent like Ishant. He is a great asset to the team. I hope he maintains his fitness and is able to play for India for a long time.” Hadlee also appreciated Sachin Tendulkar’s unmatched run of 20 years in international cricket. “I played against him when he was a 16-year-old, I never thought he would play for 20 years. I would want him to blow off all the records in the coming years,” he said.
When asked to predict the outcome of the ongoing India-Australia ODI series, Hadlee said, “For the moment, India enjoys a 2-1 lead. But do not count the Australians out. They are one of those teams that have the ability of pinching you when you least expect them to.”
When asked to comment on Tendulkar’s statement that one-dayers should be made into a 25-25 over format, Hadlee said, “I think it could be made into a 30-20 over format. This will mean that in the first innings, batsmen will get the advantage of playing a slightly longer knock. Also, it will give the crowd to see greats like Tendulkar bat twice on a single day.”
Hadlee voiced his concern on the issues that plagued New Zealand cricket. “It is having problems of late. The coach quit because the players felt that he was not delivering what he had set out to. Also, skipper Daniel Vettori who is the selector has been made the coach now. It puts enormous pressure on him and I would like to see how he performs in the forthcoming series in Dubai against the Pakistanis.”
The Kiwi ace did not appear too keen on donning the coach’s hat of the New Zealand team. “No, I am too old to coach New Zealand,” he quipped.

Men in Blue meet awesome Aussies in first ODI

prasad — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:16:16 +0000

MS Dhoni’s Men in Blue go into Sunday’s clash against Australia in Baroda, looking to arrest his team’s recent slide, especially in the horrendous Champions Trophy performance in South Africa.

The enigmatic skipper faces his toughest Test as a leader against a team which is coming back to the golden era when Australians literally muscled their way past any opposition. The world champions Australia are looking solid on paper and if there is one apparent weakness it could be the middle order’s inexperience against quality spin.

The Men in Blue would not risk Yuvraj Singh for the opening game. His value to this side is too high and in that interest it’s better he be rested. Dhoni, however, declared himself fit. He was hit on the back of the left knee by a Munaf Patel delivery during practice on Friday.
Ricky Ponting’s men might not have it that easy this time but have a definite edge. The conditions here might suit India better. The outfield looks fast and there will be full value for shots, that’s if the ball comes on well and the batsmen can play through the line.

Australia’s strength is their swiftness and their ability to find the stumps when it matters. Given their strength on the field and India’s lack in that department, Ponting and Co. start with a 30-run advantage even before the toss.
A strong individual performance at the start of the series is crucial to propel the hosts. The confidence of the side is not sky high and if Australia run away with early success, it would become extremely difficult to play catch up.
The Indian top-order has all the potential to match up and Sachin Tendulkar will have another reason to concentrate hard. The world record holder is 97 runs shy of reaching the 17, 000-run mark.

It should be a tooth and nail encounter at the Reliance Stadium and will be interesting to see who draws first blood in the lung opener.

Squads

India: M.S. Dhoni (capt), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, S. Raina, Virat Kohli, R. Jadeja, Harbhajan Singh, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar, Sudeep Tyagi.
Australia: Ricky Ponting (capt), Michael Hussey (VC), Cameron White, Shane Watson, Tim Paine, Shaun Marsh, James Hopes, Adam Voges, Brett Lee, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson, Ben Hilfenhaus, Jon Holland.