‘Leader’ Ishant Sharma must address inconsistency

Ishant Sharma took 5 for 54 against Sri Lanka in the third Test on Sunday. (Source: Reuters)

At Lord’s last year, the situation was more desperate. The fifth wicket partnership between Joe Root and Moeen Ali had been threatening to take the game away from India and MS Dhoni made a last-ditch effort by asking Ishant Sharma to bowl short from around the wicket. England fell into the trap and Ishant returned with his career best figures of seven for 74. India had bounced the hosts out.

At SSC on Sunday, Ishant was inconsistent to start with. Three no-balls, a widish delivery down the leg side and a dropped catch in his first over – the fast bowler was offering a real mixed bag. He bowled a beauty to draw an edge from Upul Tharanga a couple of overs later but once again flirted with the front crease. Ishant’s front foot appeared to have landed on the line but the batsman was given out on referral. The wicket didn’t help much. Ishant was still struggling to find his rhythm. Virat Kohli made the right decision by taking him out of the attack and bringing in Stuart Binny.

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The captain was even smarter to bring him back after Sri Lanka had lost their third wicket; this time from the opposite end. Bowling with an older ball, Ishant was in his element. An outswinger squared up Angelo Mathews and ‘keeper Naman Ojha got his first catch in Test cricket. Lahiru Thirimanne was tested with an excellent bouncer that rose from good length. Cheteshwar Pujara at forward short leg made a great attempt but couldn’t hold a sharp chance.

It was a fantastic spell of fast bowling. Ishant accounted for Thirimanne after lunch and then rapped Dhammika Prasad on the knuckles! The latter retired hurt. Debutant Kasul Perera and Rangana Herath put up a fight but Ishant removed both of them to bag a five-for and help India secure a 111-run first innings lead. It was the best-ever performance by an Indian fast bowler in Sri Lanka.

Only seven five-fors in 65 Tests, however, suggest inconsistency. In fact, Ishant is an enigma who has struggled to bridge the gap between the ‘sharm hai kya’ joke and sublime. Injuries have repeatedly returned to haunt him. After the match-winning performance at Lord’s, Ishant missed the next three Tests as India tamely surrendered the advantage and lost the series 3-1. Then a knee injury in Australia ruled him out of the final Test and the World Cup.

Ishant is still pretty young, 26, and has time on his side. The challenge for him is to deal with his inconsistency. He had 14 wickets at 27.21 in England. The average had jumped to 48.22 Down Under as he took nine wickets in three matches. Performance in this series offers hope; not just his 10 wickets so far but the discipline he has shown. Ishant also must learn to manage his body properly. As the leader of a young fast bowling group he now has bigger responsibility.