Watch: Ishant Sharma dismisses Daniel Lawrence to claim his 300th Test wicket
Ishant Sharma became the third Indian pacer after Kapil Dev and Zaheer Khan to pick up 300 Test wickets. The 32-year-old reverse-swung the ball at pace and trapped England batsman Daniel Lawrence right in front to reach the milestone.
Ishant Sharma is also sixth in the list of highest wicket-takers for India in Tests and is nearing Zaheer's tally of 311 scalps. He is close to playing 100 matches in the longest format, and that in itself is an incredible achievement for a fast bowler.
Ishant Sharma also the slowest to 300 Test wickets
Ishant Sharma became the slowest to pick up 300 Test wickets. The fact that it took 98 Tests for the tall pacer to reach the milestone speaks volumes about his struggles during the early years of his career.
Ishant Sharma had burst onto the international scene as a 19-year-old who bowled unbelievably well against the likes of Ricky Ponting in the 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Over the years, his role gradually changed from being a wicket-taker to that of a workhorse, who used to keep things tight by bowling long spells.
However, inconsistency plagued his progress as he was unable to bowl with an upright seam. After spending a lot of time in the nets on getting his technique right, Ishant Sharma unleashed a different version of himself in 2018.
From being a bowler who used to bang the ball short consistently, he began to bowl a much fuller length and got his seam position right. He has been one of the most consistent bowlers and spearheaded the Indian pace attack under Virat Kohli's leadership in Test cricket.
On a Chennai pitch that had nothing to offer the pacers, Ishant bowled magnificently in the first innings and picked up a couple of wickets. The pacer, who started the second innings in an impressive manner as well with the wicket of Lawrence, will be hopeful of helping the hosts restrict England to as low a score as possible.