In praise of Ishant Sharma

From Aditya Mungee, India
If I die tomorrow, one thing I won't regret is that I got a chance to watch an Indian "fast" bowler knock the stuffing out of guys like Ponting and Clarke, supposedly born and brought up on fast pitches like the WACA.

With all due respect to Anil Kumble, in 15 years of seriously following Indian Cricket,not for once have I felt that an Indian bowler, even on his day and at his peak could run through a top batting side on any pitch in the world Kumble has toiled and served Indian cricket, Srinath has, for long been the lone warrior in a "pace starved" country, Bhajji can bamboozle the best of batsmen on spin friendly wickets; Zaheer,when he reverse swings the old ball is lethal but Ishant is a class apart.

His biggest strength I believe is that he swings the ball both ways at >140 kph, and gets movement with the new ball as well as the old one. Of course, with just 13 tests under his belt, he's got a long long way to go and match those illustrious names, but simply the sight of a tall Indian fast bowler terrorising teams like Australia and Pakistan, once the powerhouses of fast bowling is an awesome experience. The fact that he is the first Indian fast bowler since Kapil Dev to pick up "Man of the Series" in a home series speaks for itself.

PS - Is it just me or does the sight of him bringing the ball back in into the right hander remind everyone of Courtney Walsh?