Chennai: Veteran fast bowler Ishant Sharma became Monday the sixth Indian and third pacer from India to take 300 Test wickets. He thus joined legendary former India captains Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble after a ‘roller-coaster’ ride. Ishant Sharma however, stated that he has enjoyed every moment of this ride. Ishant reached the landmark when he trapped England’s Dan Lawrence leg before in the ongoing Test here.
Ravichandran Ashwin (377 before this game), Harbhajan Singh (417), and Zaheer Khan (311) are the other Indian bowlers who have reached the landmark.
“Quite a roller-coaster life so far. A lot of experiences, I’ve learned a lot about how to bowl in the sub-continent, and what lengths to bowl when we go abroad,” Ishant said. “Feeling a bit sore, just played four-over T20 games in domestic, and came back and straightaway bowled 35 overs,” Ishant stated.
India were set a world record target of 420 to win the opening Test. Ishant said the team are positive about it, especially after their incredible showings in Australia recently.
“If we get a good start tomorrow (Tuesday), I’m sure we can chase this down. We have a fearless batting line-up, and we’re very positive about this,” Ishant pointed out.
“First two days it felt like we were playing on the road, but on the fourth day it started turning a bit. Yes, batting is tough, but not impossible. Even on the first two days I thought we bowled well. However, we weren’t getting much help from the pitch,” Ishant added.
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The BCCI and ICC joined some cricketers in congratulating the seasoned pacer who began his Test career way back in 2007.
“Congratulations @ImIshant. He becomes the third Indian fast bowler to take 300 Test wickets. He traps Lawrence in the front as England lose their third wicket,” the BCCI tweeted soon after he accomplished the feat.
The ICC also lauded the seasoned fast bowler’s achievement, coming after more than 13 years of toil. “Ishant Sharma becomes the third India pacer after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan to reach the 300-wicket mark in Tests. What an achievement!” the game’s global governing body tweeted.
Ishant has 11 five-wicket hauls and picked up 10 wickets in a match once. The lanky pacer’s spell to former Australian captain Ricky Ponting during his teenage years is still discussed in Indian cricketing circles.
Ishant missed the four-match Test series against Australia due to a side strain. He came back for the challenge against England.
