Nineteen-year-old Ishant Sharma looked like an excited kid at the gates of Disneyland on the eve of his first Test at home. At the end of Day Three, one can say that Sharma has experienced international cricket’s roller-coaster ride.

After a forgettable opening day, where he seemed out of sorts, Sharma bowled a spell with the second new ball to make heads turn.

On an unresponsive pitch, where all the bowlers had struggled and with the late evening conditions not quite conducive for pace bowling, Sharma marked his run-up for the one last time today to make a mark.

During his first over with the shining ball, Sharma made one lift from the good length and Faisal Iqbal was surprised by the sudden life on the pitch. As the ball popped up, Sharma’s Delhi Ranji team senior (Gautam Gambhir), fielding at forward short leg took the catch. The youngster had somehow found energy at the end of a long day to bend his back.

Though his figures of 23-7-88-1 are not the sort that would promise the birth of the country’s next big pace bowler, but his effort gave hope for India’s pace department that is struggling with injury. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who was constantly by Sharma’s side, while fielding at mid-on and was seen having long chats with him, spoke highly about the tall pacer. “Ishant bowled very well today. If he can bowl the way he has in this Test, he can do well in Australia,” said Ganguly. Maybe, the former Indian captain was recalling the last Australian tour when the raw 19-year-old pacer Irfan Pathan proved to be a big asset.

... contd.