India Get Thrashed in Test Series versus England

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Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India versus England 2014, Ishant Sharma, Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli

The series of cricket Tests is over. India got thrashed by England once again bringing to the fore the many problems our much-vaunted super stars seem to have when playing cricket abroad. “Lions at home, lambs abroad” has been a phrase used for decades now to highlight how our batsmen who score heaps of runs in India flounder when they play in England, Australia or South Africa.

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What Stuck In My Mind

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Eric Schmidt, Google, Ishant Sharma, Lord's

There is so much going on around us that we are likely to be swamped with an overload of detail from things that we take in. However, there are some things that stick in your mind and many others that don’t. If you see the last few days, here are a few of the things that stayed in my mind:

Ishant, once again !

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India beat Australia, Ishant Sharma

Some time back I had written to admire Ishant Sharma’s fast bowling in the Perth Test tht India won.

Seeing young Ishant Sharma and S. Sreeshanth bowl their opening spell in yesterday’s ODI against Australia was a thrilling experience for all of us. Fans of my generation have for years seen Indian batsmen made to jump by fast men from all over the world. It was nice to see the Indian pace men make the Aussies hop around.

Ravi Shastri summed it up by saying that seldom have we seen an Indian opening pair bowl so fast and so well. Sharma took the crucial wickets of Hayden, Ponting and Symonds in his spell of 4 for 38 in 9.1 overs.

Ponting, considered one of the best batsmen in the world now, had to concede that the 19 year old was a “dangerous bowler”.

Sharma consistently bowled at speeds of over 140 km. p.h. His fastest was clocked at 149.9 km.p.h. What was admirable was that he did not lose his cool even after Hayden took 18 runs of one over.

India beat Australia by 5 wickets thanks to Dhoni and young Rohit Sharma guiding them to a win after some anxious moments.

This was India’s first one-day win against Australia at Melbourne after 22 years.

Young talent should be groomed. As I have said before, we have a winner here.

Fabulous Bowling by Ishant Sharma

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Indian cricket, Ishant Sharma

The India-Australia Test series is over. All of us have some special memories of the series. Mine- like I am sure it would be for many fans the world over- would be the spell young Ishant Sharma bowled to the Aussie captain Ricky Ponting at Perth.

Statistics can be misleading. He got only 6 wickets in the 3 Tests that he played in Australia recently. There can be no doubt that he was the bowler who seemed most likely to get a wicket at any time.

This spell of hostile fast bowling brings cheer to Indian fans. Mark Nicholas writes in the Telegraph .

“It was the relentlessness that both caught the eye and raised the brow. The sheer clarity of what was taking place will not be forgotten. If Sharma does not go on and on from here, there will be questions asked. The man is a born assassin. The scorecard will inform us that I Sharma took one second-innings wicket in India’s famous 2008 win over Australia at the WACA ground in Fortress Perth. But figures do not tell us everything. An aggressive approach, a braced front leg, a high arm and a strong and well-positioned wrist all combined with mighty heart and mind to breach the opposing captain.”

Adam Gilchrist called Sharma a “lethal” bowler. Very high praise indeed from the great Aussie wicket keeper who has seen many great fast men in his playing career.

Let’s hope too much praise so early in his career does not affect the 19 year old. He has got talent which should be nurtured. In the last Test at Adelaide he reached speeds of 147 km.p .h.

I see in him a clear winner.