Ishant Sharma
Ishant Sharma. Credits: Twitter

India’s pack leader Ishant Sharma has had a merry time in the recent past. Sharma’s performances have gone up in the last couple of years and he is bowling at the top of his game. The lanky pacer scalped five wickets in the ongoing pink-ball Test match against Bangladesh. In fact, Sharma also became the first Indian bowler to take a wicket with pink-ball.

Furthermore, the veteran pacer scalped a five-wicket haul in Indian conditions after a gap of 12 years. Meanwhile, Ishant believes that bowling with the pink ball was very different as likened with a red ball. Ishant revealed that they took some time to gauge the right length to bowl.

India vs Bangladesh
Ishant Sharma. Photo by Deepak Malik / Sportzpics for BCCI

Ishant Sharma was right on the money.

“It was a lot different from the red ball. Initially, we bowled the right length but did not get any swing. Then we realized at what length we have to hit and we discussed among ourselves and found out the right length to bowl with the pink ball,” said Ishant in the post-match press conference.

Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma has turned the tables in the last two years. Sharma believes that his good performances have come as he takes less pressure to perform at his best. Moreover, Ishant has got all the experience under his belt.

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Virat Kohli, Ishant Sharma, Temba Bavuma
Credits – Twitter

“I’m enjoying my cricket right now. Initially, I used to take more pressure on my performance, to take wickets and beat batsmen so many things. Now I don’t think much. Obviously, I’ve got experience now so I adjust my length according to the conditions quickly,” Ishant said.

On the other hand, Ishant Sharma is also not losing sleep over his exclusion from the limited-overs side. The right-arm pacer last played in Indian colors (ODI) in 2016 whereas he last played a T20I in 2013. Ishant added that he is enjoying his cricket.

“Yes, it feels sad sometimes. But I’ve reached a stage in life I’ve stopped worrying about those things. I’m now 31 and if I start worrying about in which format I’m in then I cannot perform. I just want to play, be it Ranji Trophy or India. That’s a simple thing. If you enjoy playing you do well. If you start cribbing for small things you can never improve.”

Ishant Sharma’s spell of 5-22 helped India in skittling out Bangladesh for a paltry score of 106 runs. Subsequently, India has taken a lead of 68 runs after half-centuries from Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.

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