XtraTime Web Desk: India needs 84 runs to win the first Test against England with skipper Virat Kohli still in the crease. This gives immense confidence to India’s star pacer Ishant Sharma, but as per Ishant; DK too is batting with positive intent and they have brighter chance to win the first Test.
“Virat’s presence gives us a lot of confidence but at the same time DK’s positive intent has also given as confidence. Virat has scored 150 in the last innings and DK got out but you can see that he has positive intent and everything. Losing five wickets doesn’t mean much because we got their batsmen quickly as well. But cricket is such a game that you can chase down small totals easily with one big partnership,” said Ishant at the post day 3 press-conference.
Ishant bowled more overs in the first innings but didn’t get a lot of wickets but surprisingly he bowled less overs in the second innings and got a five-for. On being asked about the matter, Ishant replied,” Actually I bowed very hard and got tired. I bowl hard but my wickets column doesn’t become bigger. It feels nice to work hard as a bowler. It feels nice to represent your country and come abroad and take five wickets in an innings, especially second one.”
Ishant also revealed that the county stint helped him a lot to bowl well against England in the first test.
“Playing County cricket helped me a lot. I was disappointed a bit but I figured whatever happens it’s for your good. It was a good experience and I enjoyed it a lot. I played for Sussex, to down with Duke’s ball was good. The good thing was I had overs behind me. I played four matches for Sussex but I bowled nearly 250 overs in that. I played one-day too,” added Ishant.