Ishant Sharma led the Indian bowling attack with élan and immense skill at the SSC to bowl Sri Lanka out for 201. En route, he also got a five-for with excellent bowling figures of 5 for 54 in 15 overs.
At the end of a good day on the field, Ishant spoke about his brilliant rhythm with the ball and the subtle changes he has made in his run-up.
On the challenges for the fast bowlers
We are pretty happy after getting a green wicket. What we need to do is bowl in good areas and keep believing in ourselves that somehow we will take wickets. That’s what I have been doing.
On what a good score would be to defend
We haven’t set any score yet to be honest. We have to go according to what the situation demands. You could probably say that 300 would be good.
On his shortened run-up
Yes, I have shortened my run-up just a little bit, not too much. I think I am enjoying bowling with the new ball. Obviously if you are playing a Test match, bowling with the new ball, especially with the Kookaburra ball it seam and swing a bit, so I am enjoying pretty much.
On letting the tail wag
To be honest, if I talk about Kusal Perera, he had nothing to lose. He was just going after the bowling. If you see, he was hitting the ball even when we were hitting the right length. You can’t really do anything about that. What we can do is just keep on – on a wicket like this, you just need to keep on hitting that length and keep on believing that you will get an edge. If the batsman is slogging, you can’t say anything about it, you can’t do anything about it. In such situation, what you need to do is set a field, set a plan and bowl according to that plan so that captain doesn’t look like a fool. So, if you set a plan for bowling bouncers to the tailenders, just keep on bowling bouncers. If you are tired, just tell the captain that you are tired, you can’t bowl anymore. You need to keep things very simple so it will be easy for the captain as well.
On his junior fast bowling colleagues
I am enjoying bowling not only with Umesh but with Varun and Bhuvi as well. The thing is they haven’t played many Test matches. Still they are learning. What they need to do is to figure out how they can be consistent to take wickets in international cricket. It all depends on how consistent you are in your line and length. That’s what they need to understand.
On his role as the leader of the attack
When I am bowling, I am bowler and not leader of the attack. That’s simple thing. I don’t think about all these things, to be honest, when I am bowling. What I do is I see the wicket, where I need to bowl. Whatever experience I have, I share it with them. If they like it, they will take it. They need to be open with that. If they don’t like it, they won’t take it. I think that’s the thing they are going with.
Overstepping issues?
Maybe I am too strong now! I think I am running pretty good now. The way I am running and releasing the ball, I am very happy about these things. Even I have been thinking about no-balls for quite a long time, I need to work on that. I have been working on that, to be honest. I am not bowling no-balls in the nets. Maybe that pressure of bowling in a Test match is the reason.
