ISHANT SHARMA REACTS REASONABLY

Geoff Stone

Indian fast bowler Ishant Sharma has reacted in a calm and reasonable manner in his on-field battle with Australian captain Steve Smith during Australia's first innings in Bengaluru, midway through the second Test of the series.

Smith was surprised by a ball from the paceman that stayed unnaturally low off the pitch. Ishant, at the end of his bowling follow through, calmly reflected Smith's discomfort by violently spasming his head and pulling a face that in no way suggested he'd lost touch with reality.

Ishant has a history of appropriate physical on-field displays, previously celebrating the wicket of Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal in 2015 by striking himself on the head repeatedly.

While it's unclear if Smith reacted verbally to Ishant's display, lip-reading experts have said that it appears he may have replied with "fair enough, I can see why you'd do that".

Indian captain Virat Kohli, who was fielding in the slip cordon at the time, can be seen laughing uproariously at something but it's thought unlikely that Sharma was the reason, given that he'd done nothing out of the ordinary. Interestingly, this marks the first time in international cricket that Virat Kohli has displayed joy.

​Australia lead the series after winning the first Test match despite all predictions suggesting India would dominate on their home turf. It's unclear whether the added pressure of failing to meet expectations will affect the Indian players.

ISHANT: I did a big cricket!

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