Ishant Sharma was born on 2^nd September 1988 in Delhi.  He started playing cricket at the age of sixteen. He has played for Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. He is 6’ 5” in height. His nickname is `Sonu’.  He is a right arm fast bowler and a right hand batsman. His idol is Glenn McGrath.

Ishant Sharma was just eighteen when he made his test debut against Bangladesh at Dhaka on 25^th May 2007. He made his one day international debut against South Africa at Belfast on 29^th June 2007. He made his T20 International debut against Australia at Melbourne on 1^st February 2008. So far, he has played 35 tests, scoring 328 runs, taking 11 catches and 116 wickets with best figures of 6/55. He has played 47 one day matches, scoring 47 runs, taking 12 catches and 64 wickets with a best of 4/38. He has played 11 T 20 Internationals, scoring eight runs, taking two catches and six wickets. He has played 124 first class matches, scoring 504 runs, taking 31 catches and 298 wickets with a best of 7/24.

Ishant Sharma delivered the second fastest ball ever bowled by an Indian bowler when he touched 152.6 kmph at Adelaide against Australia on 17^th February 2008. The fastest one still is in the name of Javagal Srinath who bowled at the speed of 154.5 during the 1999 World Cup in England. When he bowled in Australia in 2008, many people thought that he was the answer to India’s scarcity in the fast bowling area when he made Ricky Ponting to hop in his crease uncomfortably. But over the years, somewhere down the line, this tall and intimidating fast bowler has lost his sparkle.

He has bowled well recently in the second innings of the just concluded Lord’s Test in England.  If he bowls well in this England series, he has a good opportunity to make his place stronger in the side as a premier bowler alongside Zaheer Khan.

With his high arm action and a good speed, he can dominate any batsman and win matches for India. Maybe, bowling constantly on the slow and flat Indian pitches has taken the edge off his efficiency. When he began four years ago, he was rather dangerous when he pitched the ball around the good length area. As he bowled occasionally over the speed of 150 kmph, he made life difficult for most of the batsmen. Even his short pitched deliveries were effective. There have been many cases of fast bowlers decreasing their pace to extend their careers.

Pace is Ishant Sharma’s main weapon and that is something the Indian team needs badly. During the recently concluded World Cup and the IPL series in India, there were times when he showed signs of radiance and a possible return to form but there were also instances when batsmen were able to play him with ease. His confidence may have been affected over these years because he has not been able to consolidate his place in the national team since the last couple of years.

Ishant Sharma needs to believe in himself and seek inspiration from a player like Steve Waugh who made a remark after watching Sharma bowl that he was the best thing that has happened to Indian cricket recently.

Article Posted By : tahnak  On July 27, 2011lView All Articles

Juror Tahseen Nakavi

Article Source :

http://www.veethi.com/articles/-ishant-sharma---the-pace-star-of-team-india-article-183.htm

Keywords :
Ishant Sharma , Cricket