Despite being sleep-deprived, veteran pacer Ishant Sharma gave it all to keep India’s hopes alive in the ongoing Test match against New Zealand in Wellington.
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After getting bowled for a paltry 165 on Day 2, India reduced the Kiwis to 216/5 with Ishant claiming 3 wickets for 31 runs.
Three weeks back, the 96-Test veteran was all but out of New Zealand series after sustaining an ankle injury during a Ranji Trophy clash while playing for Delhi against Vidarbha. It was only last week that Ishant regained his full fitness and arrived in New Zealand 72 hours before the start of the first Test.
No wonder, the lanky fast bowler was struggling hard to deal with a "jet-lag".
"I am not happy because I have not slept for two days and I was struggling a lot today (with my body). The way I would have liked to bowl, it did not happen. They asked me to play and I played. Anything, for the team," Ishant told reports after the second day’s play.
"Not that I wasn't happy with my bowling. I wasn't happy with my body as I could only sleep for 40 minutes last night and day before the Test match, I slept for three hours," he added.
Ishant said he didn't even think about playing the Test match after picking up the freak injury.
"All credit goes to NCA support staff as they worked really hard with me. We never really thought I have to play a Test because my MRI shows I had a complete ligament tear, not one but two tears. People said 'he is out for six weeks'," he recalled.
The 31-year-old said he started his rehabilitation with a positive mindset.
"I didn't have any target that I have to play a Test. I thought 'okay, if it's possible to play, I will play but if it's not, there's hardly anything I could have done'. Because the way I got injured, I don't think it had happened with anyone. But if you are destined to get injured, you can slip in toilet too."
Talking about the pitch, Ishant said it has eased out considerably.
"It was not reversing. Actually, nothing was happening. I was not holding the ball on seam and trying different things. Kookabura after 40 or 50 overs, seam really gets soft, so you need to come hard and hit the length very hard. I started bowling cross seam," he remarked.
"Actually, wicket became slow. It had tennis ball bounce at the start but when we bowled, there was no seam movement. Also for first timers, problem in Wellington is getting used to wind which is a big factor. People actually have little idea how to bowl with or against wind."
The Black Caps now have a healthy lead of 51 runs with five wickets in hand but Ishant is hopeful the No.1 can make a comeback.
"We have confidence that we can make a comeback. That has been the speciality of this team," he concluded.
(With PTI inputs)
