The Ishant Sharma performance thread

[maaki]

Ishant sharma needs to learn a lot more about pace bowling to become successfull in international cricket. He has done well so far but has potential to be an outstanding bowler.. 1> Swing ball both ways and/or Seam the ball 2> Using change of pace with cutters.. Currently he has good pace , line and length and at times seam position to get some shape.. This will make him a lethal bowler.. He reminds me so much of Javagal Sreenath.. Another year or 2 and he will be a very dangerous customer..

[King]

I confess I didn't like his bowling a bit when he was first chosen to play for India. I thought he was single dimensional bowler that just bowls yards away outside the off stump short of good length. I thought the Aussies will feast on him but surprisingly he's been great and has even troubled the Aussies with the short ones. His bowling speed has gone up a notch so much so that he was the quickest of all the quicks in the Perth test match. Not easy embarking on an overseas trip to Aussie and find his way in the very first visit. Way to go.....

[Dhondy]

I confess I didn't like his bowling a bit when he was first chosen to play for India. I thought he was single dimensional bowler that just bowls yards away outside the off stump short of good length. I thought the Aussies will feast on him but surprisingly he's been great and has even troubled the Aussies with the short ones. His bowling speed has gone up a notch so much so that he was the quickest of all the quicks in the Perth test match. Not easy embarking on an overseas trip to Aussie and find his way in the very first visit. Way to go.....

Saw a couple of deliveries from RP at 145 kph. I think Sharma touched 144 kph. But you were not the only one to be taken aback, Ravi. I didn't rate him at all until the Bangalore Test, but today was just out of the world. If he can keep this up and stay fit, ...no I can't go on...I'll let Goose describe the rest.

[The Outsider]

I confess I didn't like his bowling a bit when he was first chosen to play for India. I thought he was single dimensional bowler that just bowls yards away outside the off stump short of good length. I thought the Aussies will feast on him but surprisingly he's been great and has even troubled the Aussies with the short ones. His bowling speed has gone up a notch so much so that he was the quickest of all the quicks in the Perth test match. Not easy embarking on an overseas trip to Aussie and find his way in the very first visit. Way to go.....

Very good point, Ravi. Youngsters have generally struggled very badly in Australia but whenever the Indian youngsters have been given a chance they have come out strongly. I think it has got to do with the fight and resolve that the senior players have incorporated in the team culture. Till the mid to end 90s, only Tendulkar and to some extent Kumble, Azhar and Dravid had the resolve to perform abroad. The culture in the team was not of fight and confidence on away tours. Now you have Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly, Laxman, and Kumble as the core who believe they can perform and win anywhere and that permeates into the youth joining the team. The same Ishant, RP Singh, and Pathan would have been decimated by Australia 10 years back.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[King]

Saw a couple of deliveries from RP at 145 kph. I think Sharma touched 144 kph. But you were not the only one to be taken aback, Ravi. I didn't rate him at all until the Bangalore Test, but today was just out of the world. If he can keep this up and stay fit, ...no I can't go on...I'll let Goose describe the rest.

It surprises me how India are able to produce so many quicks of good quality consistently over the last few years. On my recent visit I had the fortune to visit the State academy and even bowl few overs there. Couple of practice turfs I bowled on were so dead for fast bowlers it wasn't funny. The ball hardly had any carry and the bounce was awful. The only couple of balls that would be effective were yorkers and slower ones that take the pitch out of the equation. Maybe other parts of the country may have better pitches for faster bowlers but the Delhi cricket headquarters Kotla is not a fast bowler's delight either from where Ishant Sharma comes from. Still India seems to produce a lot of quicks that bowl quick enough and swing at high speed. Something must be right at the grassroots. I was impressed with the amount of physical fitness the academies undergo though. They are very thorough in their warm ups and cool downs. Perhaps the method or the lack of good surfaces make the faster bowlers work that much hard I don't know. It's great to see India produce good fast bowlers for once. The Indian quicks have had better head in comparison with Poms, Saffies or even the Aussie quicks. That is saying something.

[Don]

Eaxctly Ravi and we have the likes of PJ Sangwan waiting in wings. Who according to some is an prodigy. Took a 5-for 2day in the final of Ranji Trophy.

[Feed]

Sharma a name to get used to WORLD cricket has a new star. He's tall, thin and long-haired and looks like he should be playing with a PlayStation rather than a cricket ball. More... Sharma a name to get used to January 20, 2008 WORLD cricket has a new star. He's tall, thin and long-haired and looks like he should be playing with a PlayStation rather than a cricket ball. Get used to the name ... Ishant Sharma. Sharma's harassment of Ricky Ponting at the WACA Ground was the best spell of fast bowling Australians have faced since the 2005 Ashes tour, when Andrew Flintoff was making the ball swing to telling effect. It takes a great spell to contain Ponting; it takes a freakish one to make him look as if he is batting with a cricket stump. During Sharma's inspired marathon first spell to Ponting, he had two desperately close lbw appeals rejected by Billy Bowden, several plays and misses and the occasional thump on the body. Finally and deservedly, Sharma got his man in his eighth over of the day, when Ponting edged to Rahul Dravid at slip. With exceptionally long, thin legs, Sharma has a similar build to West Indies skyscraper Curtly Ambrose and uses his height well with a high, strong action that may have cost him both lbw shouts because of the bounce he was generating. A great career beckons if his drain-pipe physique can be kept in one piece. Sharma must surely be the best 19-year-old bowler in the world and the strike weapon India have been craving. India have never been renowned for producing tall fast bowlers. Now they have one out of the box. In Australia, 19-year-old fast bowlers are doing well to play district first grade. Sharma yesterday made the best batsman in the world scramble for his life. It was gripping viewing. With Glenn McGrath and Shaun Pollock gone and Steve Harmison, Chaminda Vaas and Shoaib Akhtar fading, the game is craving men who make batsmen's pulses race. Former India coach Greg Chappell knew Sharma had a future. He pushed for him to be included as a work experience player on India's tour of South Africa but was over-ruled by the board. Chappell did not have a successful tenure as coach but his legacy is helping to revive the team. He knew if India's team was to reach its potential it needed new, young, fresh blood. The message never quite got through in his time. It has since.

[King]

Wow.... the Aussie media working over time now on Indian cricketers.:nervous:

[Anakin]

:two_thumbs_up:

[Sachinism]

:two_thumbs_up: gr8 find for india a few years work with him and he has the potential to be among the best in world cricket

[ludhianvi]

Again, good bowling by Sharma today so far. That ball that got Hayden was magnificient. He reverse swung the ball very well in the air. He bowled a couple more full length reversing deliveries to Hussey as well. On top of that, he seems to have good stamina. He bowled a spell of ten overs straight and was bowling in around 138-144kph. He should be handled with care. He probably shouldnt be bowled that many overs straight on a regular basis.

[Cricketics]

man he deserve more wicketz.. he has bowled really well today.. WHAT A CLASS PROSPECT..

[Sachinism]

another super spell from sharma, aussies dont have an answer to him when he is going at full flow really troubled the batsmen again go sharma :two_thumbs_up:

[IndianRenegade]

My only worry is, he shouldn't be lost like Munaf. He too was tall and bowled at a decent pace when he first entered the arena. His heavy yorker was a class act, but now he seems to have lost a bit of pace and has fitness problems. India must learn from its misdeeds and should start grooming such youngsters and try to improve their fitness levels....

[diegovegaz]

in the absence of our spearheads - zak, rp, sreesanth; he's doing a good enough job with irfan sometimes, he looks better than irfan or has irfan lost his magical touch??

[Ram]

His second spell of the day yesterday was simply outstanding. To bowl to batsman of the calibre of Hayden and Ponting, keep them quiet and even better, dismiss one of them with a revere-swinging ball bowled at 143 kmph in the 7th over of the spell is just an awesome performance. Ishant troubled EVERY batsman he bowled at, and that is truly remarkable.

[msb1991]

Initially, during the Pakistan tour, I was sceptical of this man's chances at international level in the long term. I felt that he could not bowl long spells since his fragile frame would tire. However, in the Australia series, he has improved leaps and bounds. In the Pakistan series, he was one who bowled too short and struggled to hit 135kph often. Now, he bowls sustained periods of great pace (up to 147kph) and gets swing with immaculate accuracy. Moreover, he can bowl extremely long spells without losing pace or accuracy. I am unsure whether he should not play the whole schedule yet (my initial viewpoint) and build up fitness and perfect his technique or whether he should continue playing international cricket in the hope that he will improve at the rate he is now. Perhaps something is missing, afterall, he is not getting more than 2 wickets per innings (with the exception of the 5fer against Pakistan), but on the other hand, it may just be bad luck.

[Guest HariSampath]

Ishant Sharma is the find of this Aus tour, and a genuine fast bowler. He was hitting 142 k consistently at about his 40th over of the inngs and even touched 147.7 k, a fantastic fast bowler for India whom most experts believe will be bowling at 150+ k in next couple of seasons

[msb1991]

Ishant Sharma is the find of this Aus tour' date=' and a genuine fast bowler. He was hitting 142 k consistently at about his 40th over of the inngs and even touched 147.7 k, a fantastic fast bowler for India whom most experts believe will be bowling at 150+ k in next couple of seasons[/quote'] If he is not treated right, he will very likely slow down like Nehra, Balaji or Agarkar.