Ishant Sharma likely to miss New Zealand Tests after injury to right ankle

Team India's experienced Test pacer Ishant Sharma is likely to miss the upcoming tour to New Zealand as he suffered a Grade 3 tear on his right ankle during Delhi's Ranji match against Vidarbha. The veteran pacer twisted his right ankle as he was appealing against Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal and was reportedly wincing in pain almost immediately. Ishant Sharma went through an MRI scan after the game and it was reported that he suffered a tear in his right ankle after falling to the pitch during the clash. Ishant Sharma's injury comes as a double-blow to India, after opener Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out of the T20s against New Zealand following a shoulder injury during the 3rd ODI against Australia. 

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Jubliant Virat Kohli hails series win

Skipper Virat Kohli took over the charge for leading the run-chase after Rohit Sharma was dismissed post his magnificent ton. Striking eight boundaries, Virat Kohli made his way to 89 runs before he was dismissed by Josh Hazlewood at the fag end of the run-chase. Shreyas Iyer, who came in at number four, provided the perfect ending to the run-chase along with Manish Pandey as Iyer made a quickfire 44 runs off 35 balls with six fours and one six. Australia's bowlers found no answers to stop the onslaught of the Hitman as spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar managed to get one scalp each while Josh Hazlewood added one to his name towards the end of the innings. Shikhar Dhawan, who walked off the field after he hurt his shoulder while fielding, did not come out to bat for India, as BCCI said that he was being assessed and that a call on his participation would be taken once the game concluded. Another unique fact about this series was that India have lost the first ODI of the last three bilateral series against Australia and have gone on to win the series. 

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"We're quite experienced, Rohit and I, and we were short of Shikhar. We got a good start, it was a tricky situation when KL got out as it was a tricky situation. All Australia want are wickets. Rohit played beautifully today before I took over. It's important to make sure one guy continues to bat till the end and takes us over the line. It's important to practice in the nets, but it's important to be okay mentally and press forward. I'm not worried about the short ball, and trust my technique to take over. You need to have a clear and uncluttered mind. Australia were even better than last time. There's Steve David and Marnus. Coming back and winning the last two games after losing the first one, is very satisfying. Getting one back given that we lost the series at home last year is really satisfying", said winning skipper Virat Kohli at the post-match presentation ceremony. 

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