Ishant Sharma (Source: AFP)
Though he has played a few matches in his ODI career, the impact of Ishant Sharma’s bowling in ODIs whenever he showed up for India can’t be denied, with the limited number of matches to his name. Ishant Sharma made his ODI debut more than 18 years ago, in 2007, in the Belfast ODI against South Africa.
Since then, he has featured in 80 ODIs, taking 115 wickets in 78 innings at a decent economy rate of 5.72, including six four-wicket hauls. The veteran Delhi pacer has produced some iconic spells in the ‘ODI career of a few matches’ to win the crucial games for India.
Hence, here, we’ll have a look at the five best and impactful spells bowled by Ishant Sharma in the 50-over format.
Ishant Sharma’s 5 best spells in ODIs
4/34 vs Sri Lanka - Cuttack ODI, 2014
India and Sri Lanka were locking horns in the first ODI of the five-match series in 2014. The visiting skipper Angelo Mathews won the toss and invited the hosts to bat first. The massive 231-run opening partnership between Ajinkya Rahane (111) and Shikhar Dhawan (113) took India to the big score of 363 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
While chasing the target, the Islanders’ batters couldn’t survive against India’s bowling attack, led by Ishant Sharma. The visitors were bundled out at the score of 194 runs in 39.2 overs, with Ishant Sharma picking four wickets for just 34 runs in his eight overs, including a maiden over.
Eventually, India won the ODI series opener by a mammoth margin of 169 runs, with Ishant Sharma being one of the game-changers in India’s favour.
4/38 vs Australia - Melbourne ODI, CB Series 2008
India and Australia were facing off in the fourth match of the Commonwealth Bank Series 2008 in Australia. The Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting won the toss and decided to bat first. Furthermore, the then-young pacer Ishant Sharma ripped apart Australia’s top and middle-order, picking three of their first five wickets.
Ishant registered the fantastic figures of ‘four wickets for just 38 runs in 9.1 overs, including a maiden over’, playing a crucial role to bundle out Australia at 159 runs in 43.1 overs. While chasing the target, the Men in Blue comfortably crossed the line in 45.5 overs, scoring 160 runs for the loss of five wickets and won the game by five wickets.
Ishant Sharma won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his game-changing performance in just the fourth match of his ODI career.
4/41 vs Sri Lanka - Hobart ODI, CB Series 2008
India and Sri Lanka faced off in the 11th match of the CB Series 2008, at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart. The then-India skipper MS Dhoni won the toss and asked Mahela Jayawardene’s men to bat first. The Islanders were dismantled entirely by India's pace duo of Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar (4/31).
Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma registered another four-wicket haul in the same CB Series 2008, in which he shone just a few matches back against Australia. In this game against SL, he claimed four wickets for 41 runs in his 10 overs to play a vital role in bundling out the Islanders at the score of 179 runs.
Later in the second innings, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir helped India chase down the target comfortably with their knocks of 63 runs each. Eventually, the Men in Blue scored 180 runs for the loss of three wickets in 32.2 overs and won the game by seven wickets.
3/36 vs Pakistan - Delhi ODI, 2013
The arch-rivals, India and Pakistan, crossed swords in the third and final ODI of the three-match series in 2013, which was also the last bilateral series between the two teams in either India or Pakistan. The hosts’ skipper, MS Dhoni, won the toss and decided to bat first. However, India’s batting attack struggled against the Pakistan bowling attack led by Saeed Ajmal.
India could score 167 runs in the first innings, courtesy of skipper Dhoni’s 55-ball 36, hitting one four and three sixes. Furthermore, India’s defence was led by the star pacer Ishant Sharma, who claimed three wickets for just 36 runs in his 9.5 overs, with a brilliant economy rate of 3.66.
On the back of Ishant’s spell, accompanied by Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/31) and R Ashwin (2/47), India bowled out Pakistan at 157 runs and won the game by 10 runs to avoid a whitewash in the ODI series.
4/57 vs Sri Lanka - Colombo ODI, 2009
India and Sri Lanka met in the second ODI of the five-match series in 2009. India batted first after winning the toss in Colombo. Virender Sehwag’s 26-ball 42 and Yuvraj Singh’s half-century (66) helped India reach a decent total of 256 runs for the loss of nine wickets.
The target was not looking for Sri Lanka as they were comfortably cruising towards it, scoring 187 runs for the loss of just four wickets in 42.1 overs. But it was Ishant Sharma who launched a brutal counterattack to dismantle Sri Lanka’s middle order, dismissing their next three wickets at quick intervals and making the score 228 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 46.4 overs.
Eventually, the hosts were bowled out at the score of 241 runs in 29.2 overs, and India won the game by 15 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the series. Ishant Sharma won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning spell in the situation where India were running behind the hosts in this game.
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