Ishant Sharma reveals the secret behind his lethal spell against Ricky Ponting

The number one Test team in the World, India, will be back playing the longest version of the game when they tour Sri Lanka later this month. After a long break from Test cricket in the form of the ICC Champions Trophy and the tour of the Caribbean, Virat Kohli and his men will look to justify their position in the Test rankings on again.

Out of the many cricketers for whom the battle against the lions will be crucial, Ishant Sharma is one of the most prominent ones. The bowler has memories to cherish from his last tour to the Sri Lankan island which includes both the happy and the sad ones. Ishant cemented his roots in the Test side after putting up a stellar performance in the series. He picked up 8 wickets in the deciding Test match which rode India to victory.

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Ishant Sharma’s career graph in Test cricket has gone significantly high since his Test debut for the nation in 2007. He grabbed the eyeballs of the cricketing fraternity when he bowled a destructive spell to Aussie legend Ricky Ponting which finally saw Ponting head towards the pavilion.

However, the fortunes could have changed for the tall fast bowler as skipper Anil Kumble was about to introduce a change in bowling. Just as when Kumble thought that Ishant was physically tired to bowl the next over, Virender Sehwag intervened. Sehwag, who has captained Ishant in the Ranji Trophy asked the legendary leg spinner to continue with Sharma as Sehwag was aware of Ishant’s capability to go through long spells.

“I had bowled 8 overs already. So (Anil Kumble) thought that if I get injured, then there won’t be any backup bowler. But Veeru (Sehwag) bhai told him he’s used to bowling, so let him bowl.” Ishant Sharma said on TV show What the Duck.

Apart from making Kumble go with Ishant, Sehwag also advised the long haired pacer to keep things simple and continue what he was doing.

“Sehwag said, ‘Don’t try anything new. Just continue what you are doing. No bouncer, no nothing. Just say what you’re saying to him but don’t experiment with your bowling,’” he recalled. For all us to be happy about, we all know what happened next.