Ishant down with pain in right ankle, doubtful starter for second Test

Ishant, who was the best Indian bowler on view with figures of 5/68 in 22.2 overs against Kiwis in Wellington, joined the team before the series after recovering sufficiently from a grade three tear.

The Indian team's worries ahead of the second Test against New Zealand cricket team increased after senior-most pacer Ishant Sharma skipped Friday's practice session due to pain in his right ankle, making him a doubtful starter for the game.

Ishant came for practice but apparently felt discomfort after which he was taken for precautionary scan of his right ankle.

The reports are awaited and if Ishant is ruled unfit, then either Umesh Yadav or Navdeep Saini will take his place. Umesh looks a more likely candidate at the moment because of his experience of 45 Tests.

Ishant, who was the best Indian bowler on view with figures of 5/68 in 22.2 overs against New Zealand in Wellington, joined the team before the series after recovering sufficiently from a grade three tear on his right ankle sustained during a Ranji Trophy game against Vidarbha.

He was expected to be out for six weeks but apparently made a "miraculous recovery" at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) under physio Ashish Kaushik.

Ishant looked in good rhythm despite battling fatigue and jet lag as he arrived in Wellington from Bengaluru barely 72 hours before the start of the first Test.

Steve Smith double century has solidified his legacy as Test batting legend

Even after retiring hurt having been felled by Archer, Smith still came back out to make 92 -- his lowest score of a series where he has now scored 589 runs at a colossal average of 147.25.

Steve Smith is on course to enjoy one of the most productive series by any batsman in Test history after he marked his return to Ashes action with a double hundred at Old Trafford.

The 30-year-old's 211 was the centrepiece of Australia's 497-8 declared on the second day of the fourth Test.

It was his third century in four innings this series following scores of 144 and 142 in the opener at Edgbaston -- Smith's first Test since completing a 12-month ball-tampering ban.

If those hundreds erased doubts about whether he would be the same stellar batsman after the traumatic events during a Test in Cape Town that led to his being stripped of the Australia captaincy and a lengthy suspension, Thursday's innings put to rest fears of any lingering ill-effects after he was concussed by a Jofra Archer bouncer.

That blow to his then unprotected neck -- he is now batting with a 'stem guard' -- during the drawn second Test at Lord's saw Smith ruled out of England's dramatic one-wicket win at Headingley that levelled this Ashes at 1-1 with two to play.

Even after retiring hurt having been felled by Archer, Smith still came back out to make 92 -- his lowest score of a series where he has now scored 589 runs at a colossal average of 147.25.

The most runs ever made by an individual in a Test series is the 974 compiled by Australia's Don Bradman, widely regarded as the format's greatest batsman, during the five matches of the 1930 Ashes in England.

Vivian Richards holds the corresponding record for four Tests, posting 829 runs during West Indies 3-0 win in England in 1976 where the 'Master Blaster' missed one fixture out of five through illness.

Both those marks may be beyond Smith.

But if Australia do retain the urn -- and they were well-placed at the close with England 23-1, a deficit of 474 -- this will undoubtedly be 'Smith's Ashes'.

Business Standard