Ishant admitted he attempted to be someone else during the dark phase.

[rkt.india]

http://www.thehindu.com/sport/cricket/article2149973.ece Ishant Sharma bowled with intensity and aggression to rip through the West Indian first innings in the second Test. The lanky 22-year-old paceman - he stands at 6'4 - put his height and high-arm action to extract discomforting bounce from a telling line to emerge with his career best innings haul of six for 55 in Tests. The paceman from Delhi also reached the 100-wicket mark in Test cricket. Ishant - in his 33rd Test - has 102 wickets at 33.36. His strike rate of 58.6 is creditable since he has seen major fortune swings in his career after his debut in Bangladesh in 2007. "A cricketer's career will have its ups and downs. I have learnt to cope with it. I wish to thank my family which has stood by me at all times," he said. Ishant admitted he attempted to be someone else during the dark phase when he appeared a shadow of the bowler he can be. "I lost my rhythm. Then I learnt that I had to be myself, bowl to my strengths and not be someone else." He has evolved as a bowler. "Earlier, I used to think only about pace. Now, I think about line, length and control, the situations and how I would bowl to different batsmen. I have learnt to visualise my bowling," he said. Ishant can still generate speeds that can make the batsmen hurry their strokes. He uses it judiciously though. "Pace and bounce have always been my strengths," he said. The impressive seamer said he enjoyed the responsibility of leading the Indian pace attack in the absence of Zaheer Khan. Ishant was seen walking up to Abhimanyu Mithun and offering him words of advice on the third day. "I just told him that he had to be patient. Mithun is a good bowler. He got us the vital wickets of Darren Bravo and Chanderpaul." Ishant has been someone who reserved his best for the Tests. He said, "In Test cricket, even if you do not bowl well in your first spell, you can always come back in your second or third spells." He thanked Zaheer Khan for making him focus on fitness. "I understood the value of fitness now." And he did recall his probing spell to Ricky Ponting in the Perth Test of 2008 down under. "That's a nine-over spell that I remember," he said. On his bowling in the ongoing Test at Kensington Oval, Ishant said, "It is a good track to bowl on, there is movement and bounce. But you have to bowl in the right areas. I think even a 11-run lead is useful for us. We cannot control the weather but we will go out there to make runs and take wickets." Marlon Samuels defied Ishant and the rest of the Indian attack during his fighting unbeaten 78. "It was the sort of wicket where you could never really be in. There was bounce and movement for the bowlers all through. I was tested by Ishant and it was good competition," he said. This is Samuels' comeback season. "I was very focussed. There is fire inside me. I am an emotional person," he said. Samuels added he had raised the bar for himself. "I have been getting the big scores in domestic cricket. I am in a better frame of mind for Test cricket. I have realised that I need to be consistent," he said.

[NareshK]

He was unlucky to not get wickets early on in his spell. Bowled superbly throughout the day. :hatsoff: