India’s pace bowling spearhead, Ishant Sharma recently revealed that KL Rahul’s challenge of scoring more than his score spurred him to make his maiden fifty in 125th innings of 92nd test of his career.
In September 2019, on the tour of West Indies, Ishant Sharma scored his maiden half-century during the second Test at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. During the match, where Ishant also took three crucial wickets, his 80 ball 57 runs in the first innings helped India put a score of 416 on the board.
“K L scored 25 or 26 in the inning. He came and said, Ishant go and score more than me, u can do this, do that (in your batting),” Ishant said in the show ‘Open Nets with Mayank’.
KL could have jumped of the balcony
On the show when Mayank asked his senior teammate, who is 6th highest wicket-taker for India in Tests, just three short of 300 Test wickets, about the feelings of scoring first 50, Ishant suggested him to ask KL’s feeling at the moment.
“…leave others reaction, ask KL. How was he feeling at the moment? KL came and said, had I scored a ton, he could have jumped off the balcony,” Ishant remembers the hilarious conversation between him and opener KL Rahul.
Speaking further on the show, the pacer, whose previous high of unbeaten 31 against Sri Lanka in 2010, recalled the how his batting-gloves got wet during the Test match.
“My batting gloves got wet for the first time, I went to KL for help and he gave me a new pair of the gloves. And after my half century, KL was like I forgot to take the gloves with me while I was batting else I would have also made a 50, ” recalled Ishant Sharma.
Wining against Australia in Australia a great feeling
During the Show, when Mayank asked Ishant Sharma about the first Test series win against Australia on the Australian soil and his journey of touring them in 2008 to touring them in 2018, Ishant said it meant a lot to him as he had already played 3-4 ‘away test series’ against Australia.
“I have already part of 3-4 away test series against Australia and winning there for the first time is a great feel. Obviously when you hear that Australia is a tough team, we never won there. This created an eagerness which works as a motivation and everyone carried the motivation with them in the last series,” Ishant added in the show.
Ishant also recalled the face-off incident with Smith and said he wants to enjoy his cricket and won’t do anything in the upcoming series against Australia unless somebody actuates him.
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