BATMAN RETURNS, ROBIN CHECKS IN

Ishant may not have recorded ‘five-fors’ but he certainly earned the respect with some searing spells that made the most dominating batsmen in world cricket look ordinary. His nine-over spell in Perth made a mickey of Ricky Ponting for one hour before a ball that came in, and went out a fraction — a delivery that he admits is a gift from God — relieved the Australian skipper of his torturous stay at the wicket.

Wicket-keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni had the ring-side view of the Ishant show and he is elated to talk about ‘the spell’. “For years we have seen Indian batsmen on the receiving end of such spells but to see that an Indian bowler is doing all this… thodi gudgudi hoti hai,” he smiles as he speaks about the ticklish feeling.

Ishant figured in the Sydney Test because Zaheer Khan hobbled out after a heel injury. The youngster made his mark with an outstanding second spell, where he was denied a Andrew Symonds caught-behind. He gave a good first impression in Sydney, was in his elements in Perth and lived up to the expectations in Adelaide. Even in the ODI series, he has looked like a wicket-taking strike bowler.

Ian Chappell had started the early comparisons with Glenn McGrath. Ishant’s beanpole-frame plus the ability to keep hitting the right length reminded Chappell of the just-retired great Aussie pacer. Others even saw a bit of West Indies in his bowling. That natural in-coming ball that darts in at an awkward height was a throwback to the era of the great West Indian pacers, they said.

Anil Kumble was amongst the first to admit that Ishant is definitely the find of this tour. “He’s been excellent throughout and he’s bowled some excellent spells in tough conditions,” he says. Ishant, though, is a bit overawed by the focus. “It feels nice when people say that I am the find on this tour. It feels nice when a you know a lot of people are talking about you. Seeing one’s pictures in the newspapers every morning kind of peps you up. But I don’t want to get carried away by all that. I didn’t come to Australia thinking I want to become the find of this tour; I merely wanted to make good of every chance that I get. I just want to get wickets consistently. We still have a month of cricket left and that job is incomplete. I want to stay focussed. So I have to keep bowling in the right areas and stick to the right line and length,” he says.

As a youngster Ishant had a great fascination for the speed gun. “I always wanted to bowl fast. I always wanted to be a fast bowler, not a medium-pacer or anything. But, at the same time, I wasn’t bowling thinking that I have to log 150kmph. I was getting my rhythm right and that was it. I went flat out but I never looked up to the screen to find out how fast I was bowling. But I can sure challenge the pace gun in the coming years, that would be good fun.”

But before the fun, Ishant has a tricky assignment on hand post-Australia. India play a home series against South Africa which is likely to see Zaheer and RP Singh returning to the squad after their injury break. Suddenly, there might be no space for India’s new find. Ishant is well aware of that. “I know the next series is at home, there won’t be much on the wicket where we can play with three or four seamers. Even Zaheer bhai and RP would be fit, Sreesanth, Irfan and Munaf are also there, so there will be a lot of competition in the fast bowling department. Just to think that I am now seriously competing with all of them for a place in the Test gives me a whole lot of confidence.I know that I have to wait for my chance to come and it will come.”

Ishant’s story in Australia is incomplete without the mention of his Ranji captain. Virender Sehwag famously intervened to allow Ishant to bowl one more over as Kumble was taking the paceman off after eight impressive but wicketless overs. Ishant justified the decision by dismissing Ponting in the ninth.

Sehwag knows Ishant the best. It is similar to the belief that the senior members in the Indian side have in Sehwag. Despite several forgettable Ranji outings, Kumble’s insisted on Sehwag. His 151 in Sydney came after scores of 29, 43 and 63. Sehwag was back in form and he had rediscovered his timing. Topping the batting averages for India in the Test series despite playing only the last two matches proves that point. Amidst this new-found frenzy of bringing in the youngsters, there was fear that the 29-year-old might be a forgotten man. Sehwag, though, reminded everyone of his abilities in Australia.

However, Sehwag doesn’t want this tour to be seen as his re-discovery. “I don’t think it would be fair to call this as my re-discovery tour. I was never lost to the Indian team — in my mind and even in the team management’s plan. I always had this gut feeling that I would make it to Australia. I had a little lean patch but that is common for all batsmen. I think everybody knew how good I was; I mean out of 13 Test hundreds, nine have been more than 150 and I’ve been scoring consistenty,” he says.

In one of his columns, former Australia skipper Steve Waugh praised Sehwag and the manner in which he’s made a comeback in the series. “India will be searching sooner rather than later for a replacement for the ageing Anil Kumble and an unlikely candidate has emerged during the last two Tests in Virender Sehwag. His game-saving fourth innings in Adelaide revealed a cricketer who has finally realised that talent alone doesn’t guarantee consistent results. He has always been a debonair, swashbuckling type who refused to dilute his instinctive play, but in Adelaide he elevated his game by adjusting to the conditions and showing his teammates that the team result came before his ego.” Waugh wrote.

Sehwag too admits that the Adelaide inning has helped him a lot. “The Test series gave me a lot of confidence going into the ODI series and I hope to carry on the form,” he says. In case Sehwag and Ishant both continue to perform in ODIs, things will be easy for the line-up that starts with one and ends with the other.