Ishant displayed heart and commitment

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Ishant Sharma needs to be wrapped in wool from time to time and preserved for the future. The workload of this exciting fast bowler will have to be managed judiciously. More... Ishant displayed heart and commitment S. Dinakar Colombo: Ishant Sharma needs to be wrapped in wool from time to time and preserved for the future. The workload of this exciting fast bowler will have to be managed judiciously. Under the lights at the Premadasa Stadium on Saturday, Ishant shone bright. Importantly, he bowled the ideal fullish length for the sub-continental pitches. And he varied his pace. The ease with which Ishant is maturing augurs well for the days ahead. There is more to his bowling these days than those big, pacy off-cutters. He is learning to use his height and the width of the crease. Extra height enables a paceman to extract bounce. It can also — if the bowler has a high-arm action as Ishant does — make it hard for the batsman to pick the trajectory of a full length ball. Dangerous customer This is precisely why Ishant can be dangerous with his yorkers, reverse swing or not. His toe-crushers demand a quick response from the batsman. Ishant’s rhythmic run-up and a smooth release are enhanced by a wonderful wrist and seam position. He can hit the deck as well as get the ball to swing. And encouraging signs are visible in his bowling. The delivery that consumed Chamara Kapugedera was not just the one that straightened. It actually moved away from the right-hander. If Ishant can deliver the away-going ball consistently, it will add a new dimension to his bowling. With Zaheer Khan having an off-day, Ishant displayed heart and commitment. His bowling was the difference between the sides. Not happy Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was still not entirely pleased. Dhoni has a charming smile but is a hard task-master. He does not want his men to rest on their laurels. The Indian team leads the five-match Wealthsurance series 2-0 yet Dhoni seeks improvements. He was not particularly happy with the Indian bowling in the middle and the batting Power Play overs. “If you are running from the bowling mark, you need to have decided that this is the delivery you are going to bowl. And you need to place your fielder accordingly. If you are in two minds, you cannot execute your plans,” he said. Sri Lanka’s batting Power Play, taken in the 42nd over, fetched the side 48 runs. Dhoni elaborated on the consistency factor. “If you want to bowl a bouncer, you do not need a long-off and a long-on. And if you want to bowl a slower one, you don’t need a third man. You can have a deep mid-wicket instead.” Dhoni said the bowler needed to be given first preference when it came to field placings. He quickly added, “If they don’t bowl to the field, then the captain becomes the king. But then, they need to grow and evolve themselves. You cannot spoon-feed them.” The Indian skipper is flexible with his methods. Under the lights on Saturday, it was Praveen Kumar who opened with Zaheer. Said Dhoni, “Praveen is a swing bowler and the best opportunity for him to pick wickets is with the new ball.” Dhoni admitted that he lost his cool during the middle-overs when India could not consolidate on the early gains and towards the end of the innings when the bowling was not as disciplined as he wanted it to be. “In international cricket, when there is pressure on you, you cannot be cool,” said the cricketer known for his equanimity. The Indian captain mulled over a couple of run-outs. Ordinary umpiring The Indians have also been victims of some ordinary umpiring. Sachin Tendulkar has been wrongly adjudged leg-before in both the matches and Yuvraj Singh suffered in the second game. While a battling half-century was a return to form of sorts for Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene, he was upset that his dismissal came at the wrong time.

[Vignesh]

Man This Guy Ishant is showing guts......He is the Future of Indian Pace bowling....

[YellowMonkey]

I think the Indians need to get fitter to be sure of their reliability. Athleticism is poor among Indians

[Chandan]

I think the Indians need to get fitter to be sure of their reliability. Athleticism is poor among Indians

Are you talking about Indians in general or Indian cricketers? Since this is a cricket forum, I'd like to enlighten us about the poor athletes that Indian cricketers are. And how does this relate to Ishant Sharma, since this thread is about him?

[EnterTheVoid]

^^ poor athleticism in indian cricketers: How about gang's fielding? Ever see him pulling off a Jhonty Rhodes dive to stop a 4? Its good to see the current crop of youngsters diving / jumping / sliding to stop singles / 2s / 4s etc

[Chandan]

^^ poor athleticism in indian cricketers: How about gang's fielding? Ever see him pulling off a Jhonty Rhodes dive to stop a 4? Its good to see the current crop of youngsters diving / jumping / sliding to stop singles / 2s / 4s etc

So you haven't still realised that Gangs retired last year and was dropped from the ODI squad a year before? This thread is about Ishant. But if you have news about current Indian players, you can add them.

[EnterTheVoid]

^^ I am just pointing out the importance of fielding / athleticism. Ishant' a top notch bowler. It's good to see him field off his own bowling / hold on to catches / make exceptional efforts in the field to stop runs etc. If I am not mistaken, all of this is credit to Sharma and a good display of his heart and commitment to the game

[msb1991]

Great stuff from Ishant, it will be very interesting to see if he can adapt his style to the much shorter boundaries in New Zealand. It is interesting to see that Dhoni is not merely satisfied with victory but rather wants his bowlers to bowl to a field at all times - it is a good sign of determination and perfectionism, but I hope the players take it as constructive rather than needless criticism.

[Shane]

^^ Shorter boundaries ??? We have some seriously short ones here ... so i guess he will be fine, the conditions conducive to swing should help him and the rest !!!

[msb1991]

^^ Shorter boundaries ??? We have some seriously short ones here ... so i guess he will be fine' date=' the conditions conducive to swing should help him and the rest !!![/quote'] There are some ridiculously small boundaries in New Zealand though, certainly something to watch out for. Although you note that New Zealand pitches are conducive to swing, this is not always the case and there have been a fair few belters in the recent history in NZ; only when there is moisture is there help for the seamers.

[Shane]

There are some ridiculously small boundaries in New Zealand though' date=' certainly something to watch out for. Although you note that New Zealand pitches are conducive to swing, this is not always the case and there have been a fair few belters in the recent history in NZ; only when there is moisture is there help for the seamers.[/quote'] Be it belters or wicked seamers we have the ammo for both, so i think we should expect a dinstinctively different result, than wat happened in Dec02 and 99 !!! P.S. Rain might be on the cards too, i was in kiwiland last week, the weather there is wicked, March it seems is not a conducive climate for cricket !!!