I reaped rewards for sticking to line and length: Ishant

BANGALORE: Beaming after completing his maiden five-wicket haul in the third Test against Pakistan, rookie pacer Ishant Sharma attributed his success to the tried and tested formula of sticking to line and length.
    
Ishant admitted the placid M Chinnaswamy track hardly had anything for the bowlers and said the placid nature of the pitch prompted him to concentrate on line and length instead.
    
"I just tried bowling line and length, because it was very difficult to get batsman out on these kinds of flat tracks," the lanky Delhi pacer said after the day's play.
    
Playing only his second Test, Ishant, however, refused to crib about the track and said an international cricketer should be prepared to excel on every kind of wicket.
    
"In international cricket you get all kinds of wickets and you have to bowl on whatever kind of tracks you get," he said.
    
The youngster also thanked his senior teammates for keeping him keyed up.
    
"Seniors in the team helped me a lot and were telling me where to bowl and I got a lot of encouragement from then," said the pacer, who finished with five for 118.
    
Ishant's performance came a day before the selectors meet here to pick the 16-member squad for Australia. The youngster, however, denied that staking claim for a berth was an added motivation for him.
    
"No, that was not the case. I was just concentrating on my game," he said.
    
Asked if he had spoken to his parents after the showing,Ishant said, "I haven't. But I require their blessings all the time."