Can Ishant Sharma Bounce India Back??

“He came, he saw, he conquered”-This quote very well summarizes the 2 test at Lords between India and England. Ishant Sharma registered his career best figures of 7 for 74 and 5 wickets taken in 33 balls, which bounced England out of the game as India registered their 2 win at “The Mecca of Cricket” in 28 years, the last one being in 1986.

Questioning his talent after his performance in Perth where he broke the backbones of the Aussies would be unfair, but as he was continuously criticized for not being able to pick wickets and his recent form, he sent out a strong message to his critics by bowling an unforgettable spell.

However, as the Indians were rejoicing over the famous win, Ishant was ruled out of the 3rd and 4 test due to an ankle injury. The same had happened in 2011 when India’s spearhead Zaheer Khan was ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury which had dashed all the hopes of an Indian win. Nonetheless, that gave an opportunity to debutante fast bowler Pankaj Singh but he too was done and dusted as he conceded 147 runs without taking a single wicket which is the second most runs conceded in a debut. The fact that he was used for spells of 2-2 overs also ruined his rhythm.

Dhoni’s tactics have been questioned in this series over the odd bowling changes made by him. Stuart Binny was included in the playing eleven as a medium-pacer all-rounder but he bowled only 20 overs in the two test matches he played. This was not at all fair as he wasn’t given enough chances to prove his mettle.

Now the time has come that Dhoni should take some sensible decisions in the last match so that India could draw level in the series. The lack of sound captaincy in itself is the one thing that has been the chief cause of worry for the visiting team.

With the return of Sharma, the bowling line-up will gather some momentum for sure but it will be interesting to see whether Sharma’s pace and bounce will baffle England or whether India will suffer another overseas series loss which seems to be the more distinct possibility presently.