Ishant Sharma hits maiden fifty of first class cricket career in England | Cricket - Hindustan Times
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Ishant Sharma hits maiden fifty of first class cricket career in England

Hindustan Times | By
Apr 22, 2018 04:24 PM IST

Ishant Sharma scored 66 in 182 minutes and later claimed two wickets while playing for Sussex in an English County Division Two match against Leicestershire.

India pacer Ishant Sharma, who was snubbed at the IPL 2018 player auction, has continued his impressive run with Sussex in English domestic cricket. After creating a buzz with his five-wicket haul in the previous match against Warwickshire, Ishant has now shone with the bat in Sussex’s ongoing County Championship Division Two match against Leicestershire.

Ishant Sharma hit 66 in the first ever half-century of his first class cricket career.(Getty Images)
Ishant Sharma hit 66 in the first ever half-century of his first class cricket career.(Getty Images)

Playing the 120th first class match of his career, the Delhi-born cricketer registered his maiden fifty at Leicester on Saturday. His innings of 66 came off 141 balls and lasted 182 minutes. Prior to this, the 29-year-old’s highest first class score was only 31.

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Batting at no. 9, Ishant came out in the middle on Friday evening with his team’s scores reading 240 for 7. He negotiated the remaining overs of the day without much difficulty and remained unbeaten on 8 in the company of wicketkeeper Michael Burgess as Sussex closed the day at 254/7.

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After the resumption of play on Saturday, Sharma and Burgess sent Leicestershire bowlers on leather hunt, putting on 153 runs for the 8th wicket. While Burgess went on to score a hundred, the lanky tailender reached his first half-century before being caught by Griffins off Javid in the 133rd over of the innings. His innings featured six fours and one maximum.

A confident Ishant then returned to claim two important wickets to put Sussex in a strong position. His victims included former England opener Michael Carberry. Leicestershire closed the second day’s play at 112 for 2 in reply to Sussex’s first innings total of 438/8 declared.

Pujara run out again

Meanwhile, Cheteshwar Pujara, another Indian cricketer playing in English County this season, made headlines once again for his poor running between the wickets. The 30-year-old, who had become the first Indian cricketer to be run out twice in a Test match in Centurion in January, was dismissed in the same manner while playing for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire in a County Championship Division One game at Leeds. Pujara was batting on 18 when he showed a lapse in judgement and went for a non-existent run, which resulted in his familiar mode of dismissal.

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