Cricket / Ishant becomes 2nd fast bowler after Kapil Dev to play 100 Tests for India

Cricket Desk: Ishant Sharma has become the second Indian fast bowler to play 100 Test matches when he took the field against England in Ahmedabad. The only other pacer from India to have played 100 Tests is the great Kapil Dev (131). In the second Test at Chennai, he claimed his 300th Test wicket.

Ishant began the day with a wicket in the third over when he had Dom Sibley caught in the slips by Rohit Sharma for 0.

Overall, Ishant becomes the 70th cricketer to appear in 100 Tests and he was presented with a special cap and a memento by the President of India.

Virat Kohli and Ishant Sharma had made their first-class debut together, against Tamil Nadu in November 2006 at the Ferozeshah Kotla.

Ishant and Jasprit Bumrah are the two pacers for India in the third Test against England which is a Pink Ball one in Ahmedabad in the Narendra Modi Stadium, previously known as the Sardar Patel Stadium. It is the largest cricket stadium in the world and can seat 1,10,000 people when at full capacity.

Sharma said an India pace bowler, reaching Kapil Dev's record of 131 Tests is not on his mind yet and added that playing one format had made it easier to reach the 100-Test mark quickly.

"If you think of it in a positive way, then it gets easier and is better that I performed in one format. You are grateful. This (playing one format) is also why I am playing the 100th Test. But I don't think that if I had played white ball cricket, I wouldn't have played 100 Test matches. I am just 32. Maybe I wouldn't have done it so quickly, I would have done it later," he said in the build-up to the Test.

The pace bowler's performance has been exceptional over the last three years. Since the start of 2018, he has taken 76 wickets in 20 Test matches at an average of 19.34 with four of his 11 five-wicket hauls in his career coming during that period.