During Australia’s 2013 tour of India, all-rounder James Faulkner achieved a heroic feat of scoring of 29-ball 64* in the Mohali ODI.
The match is remembered for fast bowler Ishant Sharma‘s forgetful 48th over, where the visitors needed 44 runs off just 18 deliveries.
Faulkner smashed 30 runs in the over, which included four sixes, to take the momentum in favour of the Aussies. Australia went on to take 2-1 lead in the 7-match ODI series.
Now, looking back at the episode, Ishant has revealed about feeling like betraying his country, tagging it as a ‘turning point’ in his life.
“The turning point of my life came in 2013. Faulkner hit me for 30 runs in one over in an ODI in Mohali that Australia went on to win,” Ishant told Deep Dasgupta on Espncricinfo show, ‘Cricket Baazi’.
The lanky seamer from Delhi went on to add about him weeping for three weeks straight, over the phone in front of his girlfriend.
“At that time I felt I had betrayed myself and my country,” said Ishant, going on to reveal that he cried for two weeks after that Mohali ODI.
“For two-three weeks, I didn’t speak to anyone. I cried a lot. I am a very tough guy. My mother says she hasn’t seen a tougher person than me. [But] I called my girlfriend and cried on the phone like a child. Those three weeks were like a nightmare. I stopped eating. I couldn’t sleep or do anything else. You switch on the television and people are criticising you, which messes you up even more,” the Test specialist said.
“I laugh about it now and I consider it a blessing in disguise. Sometimes you need a jolt to understand your passion. After the Faulkner incident, I went through major changes in my life. After 2013, I started taking things seriously. Before that, if I had a bad performance, people would come and tell me ‘It’s okay, it happens.’ But after 2013, if someone came to me and said that, I wouldn’t listen. If I have made a mistake, I have made a mistake. I started taking responsibility for my actions. When you do that, you play every match to win it for the team,” Ishant concluded.
From there on, Ishant went on to become one of the most successful fast bowlers in Test cricket. Also, he has translated his rich form in white-ball cricket, representing the Delhi Capitals (DC) in the IPL.
