Resurgence of Sharma pleases SA bound India

MUMBAI: India’s batsmen plundered runs and spin spearhead Ravichandran Ashwin got among the wickets against Sri Lanka but it was the resurgence of paceman Ishant Sharma that probably pleased captain Virat Kohli most ahead of their Tour of South Africa.

Kohli’s men crushed the visitors by an innings and 239 runs in the second Test, matching their biggest winning margin in the longest format.

India’s batsmen compiled a mammoth firstinnings total against Sri Lanka’s toothless attack, while the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja combined to pick up 13 of the touring side’s 20 wickets in Nagpur.

But it was Ishant’s match haul of 5/80 that the skipper described as the standout bowling performance of the match.

“Even on this wicket, to have that kind of bounce and trouble the batsmen regularly, I think Ishant was outstanding,” Kohli said at the postmatch presentation on Monday. “Although the spinners obviously did a good job for us, I think Ishant was the standout bowler in this game.”

The lanky, right-arm paceman was marked as the future leader of India’s fast bowling attack when he made his debut in 2007 and while he has gone on to play 78 Tests, he has failed to live up to those lofty expectations.

After falling behind Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav in the pecking order, the emergence of Bhuvneshwar Kumar as a swing bowler has only made it tougher for Ishant.

Nevertheless, he has played abigger part in the Test side this year, even though that part has been mostly as backup. Ishant would probably not have played in Nagpur had Kumar not withdrawn from the final two Tests and Shami was not ruled out due to a slight injury concern.

In Nagpur, he extracted good bounce and movement from a batting-friendly track, which could prove crucial in South Africa with India set to face wickets that are expected to aid the faster bowlers.

“The way Umesh and Shami and even Bhuvi were bowling was tremendous. I didn’t take much wickets in the last 12 Tests I played, especially in India. They deserved to get a chance before me,” Ishant said. “The problem for me was the wicket column was always empty. But now I am getting wickets, I am feeling pretty good about myself. It’s a healthy competition the way everyone is performing. When you get an opportunity you have to take wickets.” – Reuters