Cried for 15 days after conceding 30 runs in an over to Faulkner, says Ishant Sharma
What's the story?
Indian pace spearhead in Test matches, Ishant Sharma, reflected on the phase of his life after he was destroyed by James Faulkner in an ODI match at Mohali. During the interview, Ishant revealed that he "cried for 15 days at least" after the match and also said that his wife and his friend had played an important role in motivating him.
The background
India hosted Australia for a seven-match ODI series in 2013 and both the teams had won one match each heading into the third encounter at Mohali. India batted first and MS Dhoni's century had propelled his side to a defendable total of 303/9. The Indian bowlers had restricted the opposition batting order to 213-6 in 41.1 overs and it looked like the home side would take a 2-1 lead in the series.
However, James Faulkner changed the fate of the match by playing a knock of 64 runs off just 29 balls with the majority of those runs, 30 to be exact coming from Ishant Sharma's 48th over. Eventually, Australia won that match by four wickets.
The heart of the matter
In a chat with the Indian Express, Ishant spoke about his mental situation after that match and said, "I have always been hard on myself; I am not someone who just pushes things under the carpet. I lost a game for India. I didn’t cry for just one day… I cried for 15 days at least."
His wife Pratima Singh also put light on how she helped her husband overcome that tough phase of his life. She mentioned how surprised she was on seeing Ishant cry as never did she imagine that she would see that sight in her life. Pratima explained to the disappointed pacer that life is long; don’t give over importance to cricket and Ishant soon got over that thing.
Ishant also stated how he had made adjustments to his bowling after that incident and added, "There was a time when I used to keep bowling normally. Like for left-handers I used to keep bowling over-the-stumps, but now I have started changing. Now I train at nets to bowl round the stumps to a leftie. Or say, for a right-hander all I used to bowl was the ball that came in. Now I have tried to develop the straight ball."
What's next?
Ishant Sharma has now become an integral part of the Indian Test squad though he has failed to cement his place in the limited-overs side. With India not playing any Test matches in the near future, Ishant will next be seen playing for his home franchise Delhi Capitals in the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.