Just when everyone was thinking Ishant Sharma was losing his mojo with the ball, India’s most experienced pacer at the moment proved his mettle with a sizzling display on the first day of the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka at Nagpur.
It was a lucky break for the right-arm pacer as he was selected in the playing eleven only because last match’s Man of the Match Bhuvneshwar Kumar had left the team to attend his wedding ceremony. With not too many chances coming his way, the 29-year fully capitalised on the opportunity as he took three wickets including the key wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne. In addition to picking up the wickets, Ishant was also disciplined with his bowling and conceded just 37 runs in the first innings.
It was a memorable comeback for India’s most experienced pacer and Twitter could not stop itself from lauding the performance. Here are some of the messages.
Well bowled Shrma ji @ImIshant ☺️?
— Ishwar pandey (@pandey_ishwar) November 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/ImRo450/status/933917039399276544
https://twitter.com/SirIshantSharma/status/933987063090819072
Ishant Sharma is now the only cricketer to feature in all the 6 Test matches hosted at Nagpur.#INDvSL
— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) November 24, 2017
Its been so many years since his debut and still @ImIshant is bowling at 144 km speed !! Hats off to fitness ? #INDvSL #SLvIND #IND #SL
— Sanjeevkumar Gupta (@superhotsanjeev) November 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/willflyhigh/status/934029189308489728
Exceptional Bowling Through out the inning bowl on good ?length with beautiful?? line consistency and Get 3 Wickets @ImIshant #INDvSL #INDvsSL
— TestCaptain ?? (@TestCaptain1) November 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/ImRo450/status/933910996816576514
https://twitter.com/NTRAbhimanini/status/934005090221826048
Improved bowling? Yes. Improved fielding? Definitely. Played, @ImIshant! #INDvSL
— Aman Mishra (@Hedonist140) November 24, 2017
Meanwhile, coming to the game, India bowled out the visitors for only 205. Ashwin was the most successful bowler, picking up 4 wickets while Ishant and Ravindra Jadeja picked up three wickets each.
The hosts, however, failed to close the day on a good note as KL Rahul was dismissed for 7. India were 11 for 1 when the day’s action ended.