The 6' 5" Delhi pace bowler proved just why he is India's next big hope on days three and five of the second test against the West Indies. Ishant Sharma took his second ever 5-wicket haul as he notched up impressive figures of 6/55 to give India a slender yet important 11-run first innings lead. He continued his return to form on the crucial fifth day of the test, taking 2 early wickets to give India early hope. Alas, India ran out of time at the end, but Ishant's 10 wickets in the match are an extremely encouraging sign for the young pace bowler. 

In the process, he also became the 5th fastest bowler to reach the 100-wicket mark in test cricket. It took him just 33 tests to achieve this feat. At just 22, he still has several good years ahead of him and is all set to break several major bowling records.

Bowling at about the 90mph range, Ishant exploited the conditions well in Barbados. The Kensington Oval pitch provided him with the ideal bounce to force the West Indies batsmen into playing forward. As a result, several of his victims were caught off awkwardly rising deliveries.

With his stellar bowling in both the tests so far, he's taken the attack to the West Indies and provided the shaky Indian batting line-up with some much-needed breathing room. 

Based on what we've seen over the past few days, it's safe to say that Ishant Sharma has made a complete comeback to test cricket! 


Here's a snippet of one of Ishant's previous epic performances against then-world champions, Australia:

 


 
 -Picture courtesy Reuters-

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