Ishant Sharma says India wants to be the No. 1 Test team
After taking a historic 2-0 lead in the series, Ishant Sharma’s has set his sights on winning the fourth Test in Port of Spain to helpi India reach the No. 1 spot in ICC Test Rankings. The pacer wants to reach the top spot after India lost out the top spot to Australia at the start of 2016.
Ishant Sharma expressed his eagerness to win the fourth Test against West
“We have won the series, but the fourth Test is still to be played. Test cricket is such a format where you can never be complacent. We lead 2-0, but if win the next match, we will be the No.1 Test team in the world and there can be nothing better than that,” he said in an interview with the BCCI.TV.
Reflecting back on the performance by the Indian bowlers on the final day of the third test, he said, “We had this belief that we could win the Test. The wicket was slightly damp and the batsmen felt that there was some purchase for the bowlers. You saw how Bhuvneshwar Kumar ran through the West Indies line-up in just one spell and got five wickets in the first innings. If one bowler can do it, it is possible for others to do it too. We were confident.”
Mohammed Shami, who also bagged 3 wickets for 15 runs on the final day, told BCCI.TV, “The plan was to score quickly and declare early. We wanted to bowl about 80 overs and discussed that in the team meeting. The results are out there for everyone to see as we stuck to our plans and executed them very well.”
India will regain their No. 1 ranking in the ICC Test rankings if they manage to win the final Test against West Indies. Incase of other outcomes, they will have to wait until New Zealand's tour of India in September to make their move.