England vs India, 1st Test: We Will Try to Take 20 Wickets Regardless of the Pitch, Says Ishant Sharma

Having engineered a collapse with one of his best spells in recent times, lanky Indian speedster Ishant Sharma said that he feels like having got his rhythm back. (Match Report | Highlights | Scorecard | Pics)

"I struggled with my rhythm in the two practice matches. These things happen when you haven't been playing cricket for too long. I didn't play much cricket before that and even in IPL, I played a very few games," Ishant said at the post-match press conference. "I was bowling in the nets a lot but bowling in the middle is different. Now I am feeling a lot better and feel in rhythm, so I think I am bowling well," whose three-wicket burst in the post-lunch session suddenly put India in the driver's seat. (Root Admits it Wasn't England's Best Day)

Having run through top-order, Ishant was full of praise for young Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/61), who ran through the lower middle-order.

"Bhuvi is a tremendous bowler. He used the conditions very well and bowled within his limitations. He knows that he can use the new ball well and he did just that, and he is a clever bowler. We have been talking and chatting quite a lot while bowling together, so I am enjoying bowling with him," he said.

When asked if he is giving Bhuvneshwar and others advice as the senior-most bowler, Ishant replied,"I am not the leader of this attack. I don't think about such things. All of us bowlers are of the same age. If at all, sometimes I share my experiences of past matches because I have played quite a few, but there's nothing like the leader of the attack."

The pitch has been the centre of attraction given that it is not a typical English wicket and hasn't aided the bowlers much. But Ishant claimed that this was not a factor.

"We cannot control the pitch. India is touring England and not the other way round. We will bowl on whatever pitch they will give us and try to take 20 wickets. The good thing about this pitch is that we know exactly how to bowl on such pitches.

"I have played enough matches to know on which wicket what length to bowl, how to bowl, when the ball is swinging or not swinging and when you have reverse swing. I am just relying on my experience on this tour," he said.

The only question then remains is if India can now force a victory in this first Test.

"We cannot say anything about victory yet. The pitch won't change a lot, it will only get slower. Things can change quickly in cricket, you might get a lot of wickets in a session and then you see that last two wickets have both scored more than 50 runs.

"We can only try to get the last wicket quickly tomorrow, put up a good score and then get them out. We cannot even say how long that will take, how many sessions needed to bowl them out again on such a pitch," Ishant signed off.