India vs West Indies: Time for Ishant Sharma to unleash

Ishant Sharma was adjudged Man of the Series in the 2011 tour of West Indies for his 22 wickets in 3 Tests.

Venomous and terrorising. Yes, that is what Ishant Sharma was for the West Indies cricket team the last time India were on their shores five years ago. The lanky right-arm pacer, who continues to be ridiculed for not stepping up as the bowling spearhead and deliver victories to his team which many believe are well within Ishant’s capabilities, had ended up with as many as 22 wickets in mere 3 Tests in the Caribbean in 2011. Back then, Ishant swung the ball and made it bounce dangerously, snaffling many wickets en route marking a remarkable tour for himself. Now, as India look to push for a series win once again with the hosts on their knees, the team will like their premier bowler to unleash himself once again.

Even though India’s margin of series win in 2011 (1-0) was not as convincing as Ishant’s numbers and the way he bowled, there was plenty to believe in him back then and even now. In 2011, Zaheer Khan was rested and Ishant was still learning the art of fast bowling. But having delivered at crucial junctions, such as at Lord’s in 2014, India can expect their most experienced bowler in Test cricket to once again batter West Indies.

Ishant has been around close to a decade, but there have only been a handful of series wherein he has ruled the roost. He made mark on Australia tour of 2007-08, belittling no other than Ricky Ponting. Six years later, the Lord’s Test was indeed Ishant’s finest performance since having made waves first up.

The West Indies tour 2011, wherein India won across formats and claimed the three-Test series 1-0, remained their last overseas win for five long years, till Virat Kohli and company came around and trumped Sri Lanka in their backyard. Ishant played crucial roles in West Indies 2011 and in Sri Lanka in 2015. It is now time for him to imitate his past performances.

While the ongoing series has seen Ravichandran Ashwin making mincemeat of the West Indies batting, the fast bowlers too have made critical contributions. Ishant has somehow not been in his elements, having taken 4 wickets in the 2 Tests so far, but to rule out the possibility of him making a strong remark could be erroneous.

In the first Test at Jamaica, Ishant claimed 6 wickets — 3 each in an innings — as India won by 63 runs. He was unplayable at Barbados, claiming 6 for 55 in the first innings and 4 for 53 in the second, but despite Ishant’s 10-wicket haul India failed to win the Test. The third Test at Dominica was a draw again, with Ishant claiming 6 wickets with a five-for in the first innings.

For the West Indians, who still had the likes of Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan (first 2 Tests), Ishant was unplayable. At Barbados, he made the ball bounce viciously, got reverse swing, and ever darted those toe-crushing yorkers that made West Indies batsmen’s lives miserable. Ishant ran in hard, angled the ball into the right-handers well, and against the southpaws, the deliveries bowled across the line were placed at just the right areas to keep finding the edges.

Also, back then, Ishant was a part of a bowling attack which was completely different to what India have at present. The 2011 tour had the likes of Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh and even Amit Mishra and Ishant, but it certainly did not present their captain MS Dhoni the options to play around with, the way Virat Kohli can.

Ashwin is currently leading the charts with 13 wickets in 2 Test so far, and keeping in mind the frailties West Indies batsmen have shown against both spin and pace, Ishant has all the requisite experience and support to launch another attack.

Ishant was adjudged Man of the Series in the 2011 tour for his 22 wickets in 3 Tests.

(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)