Ishant Sharma appreciation thread!

[Dhondy]

That is what bewilders me. There is a meaningless money collecting series like Kit-Kat etc. and there is Test match series. A player wants to choose a series for rest/ recration for his fitness. What you will encourage as a trainer? I will say, take a rest from exhaustive kit-kat cup and play Test series, We all have seen how badly Dhoni was missed in 2 test matches for his behind the wicket skills. I think, Dhoni was clearly discouraged to take a rest from ODI series, instead BCCI didn't mind a Test series absence since for them Test matches consume resources with less return in terms of money, hence not important. Point is, it is not just about individual Dhoni case, there is lack of coherent policy within BCCI to rest/rotate pace bowlers from meaningless ODI/ T20s.

Very true, Sandtest. And we have all seen the ramifications of losing a top class WK to fatigue when he should be playing Tests. Some of us have been crying ourselves hoarse over this, but who gives a damn? I betcha Sharma will be made to play in the ODIs and ground to dust by the powers-that-be.

[lasereyes]

2 standout things I have noticed about Ishant: 1. He is a quick learner. Remember when he entered a year ago, he bowled only induckers. But he has learnt to bowl the legcutter - and we saw that same fast, lifting one that gave Ponting nightmares today. He has also gained pace and eliminated the no balls that dogged his early tests (as commented above). 2. He has good stamina. Remember that famous spell in Perth when he bowled 10 overs on the trot and was as hostile in the last as in the first 2. Again today, he shouldered most of the burden and broke the back of the SL early order; and got the crucial breakthrough when Dilshan and Samaraweera were threatening to make a match of it. What a shame Sreesanth can't copy Ishant's attitude. He had the similar ability to bowl the magic spell, but has simply lost the plot.

[Ram]

Anyone's got any videos of the Lankan 2nd innings?

[Ram]

Superb cricinfo article on this topic; Sri Lanka v India, 2nd Test, Galle, 4th day Ishant runs on Ubuntu Jamie Alter in Galle August 3, 2008 He may not know what it is, but Ishant Sharma is running on Ubuntu. For the uninitiated, Ubuntu is a word from the African Bantu language, which stresses collective success over individual achievements. Doc Rivers, coach of the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics, famously borrowed it from Bishop Desmond Tutu and made it a dressing-room mantra that helped lead the Celtics to their 17th title and first banner in 22 years. Nothing summarised India's spirit more than Ishant, to some an unlikely hero in India's 170-run, series-leveling win against Sri Lanka in Galle. The pendulum swung throughout this Test, primarily because both sides threw away positions of strength, but the second half of the first session today sealed it India's away. And it was down to Ishant's brilliance that India regrouped collectively. Blighted by sloppy cricket during the first half of the morning, they slipped from an overnight 200 for 4 to 269, leaving Sri Lanka 307 to take the series. "We'll get 400," Mahela Jayawardene said yesterday when asked what total Sri Lanka would be safe chasing. "If they get 500, we'll go and get 500. That's the attitude we have got. Nothing is difficult for us." Ishant, and India, proved him wrong. Running in hard, his lanky frame and ugly mullet betraying a proper fast-bowler's tempo, Ishant kickstarted India. Malinda Warnapura's was a basic set-up, prematurely onto the front foot, and he could not cope with a gem that pitched full and deviated. First strike to India in Ishant's opening over. Zaheer Khan took a cue and bowled another beauty to dismiss Michael Vandort. Having primarily bowled full in search of swing in the first innings, and in his opening over today, Ishant switched to a back-of-a-length line after that. One delivery today was right out of that over to Ricky Ponting in Perth but Jayawardene played it very well. But then, smartly, Ishant altered his length and offered Jayawardene some room, and he cut the ball right into Rahul Dravid's lap at gully. Dravid, after spilling Vandort off the second ball of the innings, had just been removed from the slip cordon. Two wickets in two overs from Ishant had Sri Lanka on the mat and suddenly there was a spring in his step. The pitch hadn't thrown up a single demon since the opening session of this match but Ishant produced a hint of movement and appreciable lift. As in Perth, Ishant didn't produce just one top over. Two consecutive overs, Ishant's fourth and fifth, were excellent. Thilan Samaraweera was worked in the channel outside off stump by five lifting deliveries, and was made to play at the sixth, which kicked up. Next, Vandort was beaten off repeated balls, which kicked up, straightened and deviated respectively. A spell of nine overs yielded just 12 runs. Recalled for one over before lunch, Ishant kicked one up to Samaraweera, who very nearly edged it. The referral went in the batsman's favour, but two deliveries later, Ishant drew him into a loose drive back his way, which he spilt near his ankles, hitting the turf hard in the process. Ishant gingerly hobbled for a few moments before waving medical attention back. Then came his best spell. Regularly clocking above 135kph, Ishant breathed fire. Pace, bounce, line and length, Ishant had it all and started with a massive breakthrough. Dilshan had just pulled him for four. Ishant went back to his mark and dismissed him with a pearl. It pitched just around off stump, leaped up, and Dilshan could only nick it to the wicketkeeper. Those who followed were made to hop and sway, fend and hustle. Ishant looked like getting a wicket off every ball in that spell. India cashed in and ran through the tail. "On this pitch, to crank it (pace) up like that as a 19-year old was something special," Anil Kumble said. "To get three of the top-order wickets and on a fourth-day pitch ... everybody saw what he is capable of." After dismissing Ponting in Perth, Ishant credited his "rhythm" for his success. There is indeed a rhythmic method to Ishant, especially when he dons white. It is as if he switches himself on for the challenge of the five-day game, which can only be good for India. He was the difference between the two sides when it came to pushing for victory and his top-order strikes were massive. This spell was better than his spell in Perth for the fact that there was nothing in this pitch for the fast bowlers. Spinners had claimed 24 of the 30 wickets to fall before Ishant took the ball this morning, and there had been nothing to suggest a pace-bowling revival. But he proved that if any Indian fast bowler can extract something from a dead surface, it's Ishant. As he had on the most docile of tracks in Bangalore last December, when he triggered Pakistan's slide from 525 for 6 to 537, Ishant produced life hitherto unknown for three days. Like a few of his team-mates, Ishant had something to prove to his detractors. An enthralling spell on the fourth day in Perth, during which he rattled Ponting, set tongues wagging and catapulted Ishant into the public eye. But there had been little to justify the hype about afterwards. He fetched a whopping $950,000 at the IPL auction, the most for a bowler, as his performance in Australia was still fresh in memory, but he was completely lackluster in the tournament, taking just seven wickets. That worked out to a humongous $135,714.28 per wicket. Apart from the final against Sri Lanka, Ishant was rather ineffective in the Asia Cup last month. Like Paul Collingwood's balls-of-steel hundred and Graeme Smith's emotionally sapping gem to deliver South Africa their first series win in England since 1965 yesterday, Ishant was brilliant. He was the only bowler who looked like taking a wicket and richly deserved five wickets or more, yet his 3 for 20 from 15 overs had helped India to a famous overseas win. This win is right up there with Kandy (2001), Headingley (2002), Adelaide (2003), Rawalpindi (2004), Kingston and Johannesburg (2006), Trent Bridge (2007) and Perth (2008). The Boston Celtics are the most successful sporting franchise ever, and this year mounted the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history. For the Celtics, Ubuntu was more of a team orientated chant. Similarly for India, it's not to make any one person great, but to make the team great. Hardly anyone gave India a chance when they arrived in Galle, but they've shown immense heart to come back and level the series. Virender Sehwag's 251 runs in the match, Gautam Gambhir's consistency to prove naysayers wrong, Harbhajan Singh's redemption - these were all important strands in a gripping Test, tied together by Ishant. He showed heart and resilience to bring India back, and if they take this forward to collective greatness in Colombo, they may just embrace Ubuntu as their chant. Jamie Alter is a staff writer at Cricinfo © Cricinfo http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/slvind/content/current/story/363532.html ------------------------- For Cricinfo to proclaim 'Ishant inspires series-levelling win', in a match where Sehwag scored a double and Bhajji took 10, it must really been a special performance.

[satishg]

Ishant is a genuine talent and he has just gone from strength to strength since he came into the international scene..i sure do hope and pray that he is not burned out..v need to preserve him and nurture his talent..we have a champion fast bowler in the making and we shd not let go off him as we have done in the past with so many gud bowlers..bravo Ishant u made us proud :icflove::yay::two_thumbs_up:

[cowboysfan]

ishant bowled really well-he stuck to his natural deliveries than trying to get swing(which he hasnt mastered yet).kudos.

[cowboysfan]

[ame=http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=XcUYJUKpF98]YouTube - Day 4:Test 2nd India Vs Srilanka,All Srilankan Wickets[/ame]

[Dhondy]

Jayawardane chips in:

"A quick bowler like Ishant is something for us to discuss. Ishant is an exceptional bowler," Jayawardene said. "He creates a bit of bounce on these kinds of wickets. That's something which India has."

Remember what that great India critic Cullinan said after the Kanpur Test, where Ishant bagged 5 in the match for next to nothing? "India are an unrecognisable side with him in the team. He makes a huge difference to their fortunes."

[Sachinism]

thanks for the clip some great dismissals and some soft ones too and a brilliant catch from dada would still love to see the Ishant spell, see the whole setup of the wicket

[diegovegaz]

it was a great spell of fast bowling consistent line and length bowling with great heart and patience, deserved more than just 3 wickets!!!!

[Predator_05]

Ishant and Zaheer are as good as any opening pair you will see in cricket today. Throw in a fully fit Sreesanth and you have an excellent bowling attack capable of winning matches anywhere in the world.

[Willow_on_fire]

Well bowled Ishant....:two_thumbs_up:

[vadodaravictor]

Ishant runs on ubuntu How many of you thought Ishant runs Ubuntu Linux:--D ..at least I did on reading the title:giggle:

Ishant Sharma is running on ubuntu. For the uninitiated, ubuntu, in the African Bantu language, stresses collective success over individual achievements. The Boston Celtics famously borrowed it from Bishop Desmond Tutu and made it a dressing-room mantra in 2008 as they won their first NBA title in 22 years after one of the greatest comebacks in the finals.

Full Article

[fineleg]

i first thought Ubuntu Linux as well :P But quickly thought it must be something else :D

[THX_1138]

actually, the accurate grammatical use would be "ubuntu ishant" or simply: "ubuntu!"... ubuntu is an adjective, not a noun.

[Online]

this has already been posted

[Feed]

Boy to man, Ishant takes a giant leap forward After India shot Sri Lanka out for only 136, people could barely stop talking about Ishant Sharma, reports Anand Vasu. More... Boy to man, Ishant takes a giant leap forward Anand Vasu, Hindustan Times Galle, August 03, 2008 First Published: 23:30 IST(3/8/2008) Last Updated: 23:32 IST(3/8/2008) After India shot Sri Lanka out for only 136, people could barely stop talking about Ishant Sharma. The sustained spell of quick bowling — consistently above 135 kmh — that he sent down, brought back memories of Perth where he similarly put the Australian batsmen through the most severe of examinations. "In these conditions when he's bowling at 140, I didn't see the speeds, but the way the 'keeper was collecting the ball you could sense that he was in good rhythm and that's a good sign," said Anil Kumble. The manner in which Ishant performed was a captain's dream. Ishant collected two top-order wickets in the space of six runs and when sticky partnership developed, he once again drew himself to his full height of 6' 4" and bustled through defences "The way Ishant and Zaheer bowled today was amazing. On this pitch to crank it up like that, from a 19-year-old, was something special," said Kumble. But it was not merely that the pitch was offering little by way of assistance. India were defending only 306 and with the pitch not crumbling, the spinners might have taken a longer time to come into play. India needed wickets from their quick men, and the manner in which Ishant struck was the shock and awe kind. Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, was at the receiving end, and so much was Ishant's impact that Sri Lanka are looking for a similar weapon from their ranks, leading into the final Test. "That's something for us to discuss. We felt that in these conditions, the medium-pacers are effective as well. Ishant is an exceptional bowler with his height and everything," said Jayawardene. "He creates a bit of bounce on this kind of wicket. That's something that India has. We need to make a smart choice." It's not often that a young fast bowler wins the day for India, with Kumble and Harbhajan Singh usually doing a lion's share of the bowling. With Kumble still not at his lethal best, someone needed to stand up and breathe fire for India. And Ishant did that to perfection.

[Kriterion]

great performance...i hope for cricket's sake the BCCI treats him properly and protects his fitness. long live ishant!

[Indian cricket fan in CA]

And Bishop was just pointing out that he should not be allowed to burn out too early. Tell that to BCCI.

Totally agree with you. I hope BCCI will take good care of him :nervous:. He is a rare find :yay: and hope maintains his health. The over he bowled to Ponting was always a treat to watch. It remained me of Malcom marshall bowling against (unfortunately) us in 1980's in India. He made Ponting look like chump :hysterical: and he (Ponting) had a deer caught in head lights look :omg:.

[Chaos]

3 wickets hype is BIG.