Ishant Sharma one wicket away from breaking Kapil Dev’s impressive record
Mumbai: Ishant Sharma has been a vital cog of the Indian Test team for some years now. He has been taking wickets on a regular basis and handed India wins over formidable opponents. In India’s first Test against West Indies, he once again was at his destructive best as he took eight wickets. India leads the two-match Test series 1-0.
Ishant Sharma has a chance of taking his name up a notch in history books by breaking the legendary Kapil Dev’s record of taking 155 wickets in Test matches for India outside Asia. He is currently tied at second with Kapil Dev. Spin legend Anil Kumble tops the list with 200 Test wickets outside Asia.
Most wickets by an Indian outside Asia in Test matches
| Player | Matches | Innings | Wickets |
| Anil Kumble | 50 | 92 | 200 |
| Kapil Dev | 45 | 77 | 155 |
| Ishant Sharma | 45 | 79 | 155 |
| Zaheer Khan | 38 | 66 | 147 |
| Bishan Singh Bedi | 34 | 58 | 123 |
In the first innings of the first Test against West Indies, Ishant grabbed his ninth five-wicket haul in this format and played a pivotal role in breaking the West Indies batting line-up.
After the match, in an interview, he credited Bumrah and said, “There was rain and after that the ball became wet and there was nothing happening (with the ball). So, we thought we can bowl with a cross seam. There was a bounce. Actually, Bumrah told me that we can try cross-seam since there is nothing happening.”
“The attempt was, if you bowl out the opposition as soon as possible, it is good for your team. We tried that we were able to do that.”
The second Test in Jamaica will be India’s last match of the tour. They have already won the T20 and the ODI series and will be looking to complete a total whitewash of the West Indies by winning the Test series as well.
