India v/s Sri Lanka: Ishant Sharma finally begins to redeem his career

A year ago, after Ishant Sharma demolished England with 7/74 at Lord's, we had wondered whether it marked a turning point in the fast bowler's career.

For a bowler who was slowly inching towards a 40-average, the reversal of fortunes in the past two years certainly seems to be some kind of a rejuvenation. Ishant has now taken 4 hauls of 5 wickets or more since 2014. 

He still averages only a shade under 30 during the period, but there seems to be a new energy in his stride, and his lines and lengths have been much better.

For most of the Sri Lankan series, Ishant was bowling far fuller than the 'unlucky' length he has used for a large part of his career. He also bowled a far tighter line, often drawing the batsmen half forward while ensuring the line was not so short that the ball would pass over the stumps if the batsman missed it.

Essentially, Ishant used whatever movement the Colombo pitch afforded him to reap benefits as soon as he was given the new ball. There wasn't much use of his once-famed slower delivery, and rarely did he drop significantly in pace. In a series where spin bowlers (predictably) dominated, Ishant stood out as a pacer.

Ishant's pace has improved since last year, though he is yet to consistency bowl at anything over the early 140s. For a bowler who started his career consistently bowling in the mid 140s and then lapsed into the lower 130s, this is certainly an improvement. He seems to be eager to find the right balance between pace and control, while realising that pace should be his greater strength.

Ishant's performances have also imbued greater confidence in him, which is now being used to sledge and fight with his opponents. Nevertheless, an aggressive Ishant who takes wickets is preferable to a docile Ishant who doesn't.

For all intents and purposes, the Lankan batsmen were wary of attacking Ishant during the series. What that would have produced will never be known, but Ishant was not nearly as unplayable as some Indian commentators made out to be, in the box. 

A Zaheer Khan-like consistency has reaped him wickets in the recent past, but Ishant is yet to develop significant variations of any kind. In spite of the progress of the last couple of years, we are yet to see Ishant develop a good yorker, for example. In fact, rarely does he bowl any. His short stuff is also not sufficiently accurate or intimidating for a man at least 6'4" tall and a pace bowler. 

Finally, there is the question of consistency. Ishant continues to frequently lapse into innocuousness. A prime example is his performance against New Zealand last year. After taking 6/51 in the first innings, Ishant returned figures of 0/164 in the second. The peaks - 6/51, 6/134, 7/74 and now 5/54 - have been countered all too often by subsequent mediocrity.

Nevertheless, at least the peaks are finally visible. It has taken far too long though. Ishant has now played 65 Tests taking just 200 wickets - an average of just 3 wickets a Test. In spite of the resurgence, he is yet to take a 10-wicket match haul, having taken just one in his career. 

However, in essence it may be said that Ishant's career is finally on the rails. As his seniors (Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh) have faded away into insignificance, Ishant seems at least willing to take over the mantle of senior bowler in the side. With Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and Mohammad Shami always at his heels, Ishant perhaps realises that his career only needs to proceed in one direction from here. Turning 27 on Wednesday, he still has some time to build his own legacy and redeem himself.