Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma became the sixth highest wicket-taker for the hosts in the history of Test match cricket and also the sixth bowler to take 300 wickets in the format after dismissing Dan Lawrence on the fourth day of the first Test in Chennai against England.
Ishant, who took two wickets in the first innings, pocketed just one wicket in the bag in the second innings. England amassed 578 runs in the first innings and now have set a challenging total of 420 runs for the hosts to chase to win the match.
'Felt like we were playing on the road for first two days'
Talking about the conditions especially in the first two days and the change in the last two, Ishant said, "On the first two days, the pitch was not assisting us and the spinners, it felt like we played on a road, but it started turning later on in Day 4 and it was a lot more responsive then."
India bowled 190.1 overs in the first innings, which was their highest in the home Tests for a few years now.
But the three wickets he got in the match, were enough for him to reach the 300-wickets mark in his 98th game in the whites for the hosts.
'It's been a rollercoaster journey'
Talking about his achievement, Ishant said, "It's been quite a roller-coaster life. I've had a lot of experience, a lot of mentors who taught me how to bowl in the subcontinent and how to bowl abroad."
Ishant, who was ruled out of the Australian series after recovering from the side strain he had suffered during the IPL, featured in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Delhi and picked up 6 wickets in five matches.
Shedding light on his workload and how his body is taking up the elongated spells, Ishant said, "I'm a bit sore, after bowling 4-over bursts in domestic cricket, and then bowling 35 overs within a gap of just 3-4 days."
'We can chase this down'
India needs 381 runs more on the final day of the Test match to win the game. They lost the wicket of Rohit Sharma in the wee hours of the penultimate day but Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma ensured that India didn't lose any more wickets on the day.
Ishant opined that they need to start well on the final day and believed that India can chase this down. "If we get a good start tomorrow, we can chase this down, because we have a batting line-up that is fearless and can chase this down, and it's important to look at 381 runs and not 9 wickets," he said.
