Ishant Sharma spits fire at nets

Ricky Ponting was happy that Ishant Sharma has not been in form lately. “It is good for us,” the Australian captain had said recently. If Ponting had seen the pacer at the nets here on Friday, the Australian captain would’ve been worried.

The Delhi pacer bowled with a lot of fire and verve and injured teammate Virender Sehwag at a practice session on here in the evening. Sehwag was beaten by a ball that climbed from good length and hit him on his chest. Soon Sehwag got back to his feet but the incident, surely, revealed the intent and determination of the younger pacer. It’s apparent that Ishant has not taken the recent criticism lightly. He bowled for more than half an hour in full pace. Beware, Ricky!

Ishant can also count on the pitch to assist him if India were to bowl first. According to curator Vasu Patel, the Baroda wicket will definitely have something for the pacers. “Considering that the winter is setting in, the pacers will surely enjoy bowling in the first couple of hours,” Patel said. It was not just Sehwag who got injured on Friday. Skipper MS Dhoni too had taken a hit. In fact, a Munaf Patel delivery brought Dhoni down on his ‘knees’. Dhoni needed an ice massage on his knees for relief. Both Sehwag and Dhoni are fine.

Meanwhile, master blaster Sachin Tendulkar spent some time with coach Gary Kirsten while Yuvraj Singh looked in good knick just as Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Suresh Raina.

Meanwhile, Patel said, “the wicket has been laid perfectly. It can help both bowlers and batsmen. There will be good bounce off the pitch. A handsome score can be expected but the moisture content will play an important role in the first two hours of the game.”
(With inputs from Maulik Buch)