India's gangling life support

Adelaide. First morning of the series. Five overs in. Australia 0 for 45. David Warner is hitting everything that moves. This is the first time Ishant Sharma is introduced into the series. Behind Varun Aaron and Mohammed Shami, who have played 12 Tests between them. They have both bowled poorly. They have both bowled ahead of Ishant, who is in his 59th Test. Leader of the attack. Butt of jokes. Bowls a maiden. Takes a wicket next over. Pulls Australia back with a first spell of 6-2-11-1 out of 1 for 86 after 17 overs. Is hit for just one boundary but that is when Shane Watson has taken him from off and middle, and played it to leg. Tip your hat, and hope he misses the next time he tries such a shot.

This has been the theme of the series. Ishant cleaning up after the less experienced, wayward, full of promise as we are told, bowlers. Ishant in their ear. Ishant drying up runs. Ishant taking a wicket every 14 overs and every 48 runs. "Ishant has been the most difficult to face" - Chris Rogers. "Ishant has bowled the best" - David Warner. Ishant's average against left-hand batsmen this series: 59. Strike rate: a wicket every 88 balls. His economy rate against them: four an over.

The story of Ishant's life. He cleans up after others. He bowls overs others dread bowling. His opponents say he has bowled well. He has contributed to others' wickets. Where are his wickets, though? What's new here? We have seen this movie before. His pitch maps is what is new. Pick out any from the six innings he has bowled in. Apart from the time India lost their minds in the face of the Mitchell Johnson onslaught and during the small chase that Australia got through, Ishant has hardly bowled loose balls. There haven't been many freebies.

In Adelaide, in Australia's total of 7 for 517 declared, Ishant pitched one ball on the middle stump of the right-hand batsmen, two outside leg from round the wicket, and everything else was outside off. In the second innings, just one ball on the off stump, and everything else outside off. There weren't many too wide either. In Brisbane's first innings, two of them strayed into the pads, and that was it. In the first innings in Melbourne, three short balls on middle or down leg, everything else outside off. In the second innings, just one ball on the pads. That is all.

If you offered MS Dhoni three such bowlers, he would bite your hand off. Or two such and a third real quick one. He would, for a change, be able to join the dots. The way he does with the spinners back home. None of them is an exceptional practitioner of drift and dip, but once there is control Dhoni gets into the game. India's quicks provide him no control. Ishant himself didn't contribute much on that front before this year.

Now that Ishant has become metronomic with his line, he is only doing damage control. Throughout this series, India have had one weak link releasing the pressure. Mohammed Shami most of the days, Umesh Yadav filling in when Shami goes missing. If Virat Kohli and M Vijay have been the soul of this team, Ishant has been the life support. Every time India's attack has threatened to unravel for good, Ishant has resuscitated it.

On Monday, day four of this Test, with India having given themselves a chance to win or save this match, how do the other two fast bowlers start? Short and wide, on the pads, and it's 0 for 39 after six overs. Warner again is hitting everything that moves. Dhoni calls for Ishant. Ishant delivers a maiden. Shami delivers a boundary. Ishant gets a change of ends. Ishant delivers another maiden. To Warner this time. And then 4-2-5-0 from Ishant later, R Ashwin gets Warner out. Ishant keeps at it. India are back in control. Australia can't declare. They can't bat India out on day four. Now there are fewer overs for India to bat out. That - if you can't bowl a team out on a flat deck - could have been India's realistic target when they began day four.

This has been a great improvement in Ishant. He is now ticking the first box you need to tick to be a Test bowler without bowling 150ks or hooping the ball around corners. He has been accurate over a considerable period of time. But he and his team can't be satisfied with that. He is the leader of the attack, into his 61st Test. He should be able to bowl more wicket-taking deliveries, at least against the tail. He should be able to mix the mercurial with the metronomic. If it is a team plan to bowl around the wicket to left-hand batsmen with the brand-new rock, or if it is the team plan to bounce out Johnson, Ishant should be able to overrule it when it is not working.

It is probably a bit too much to ask. In an ideal world Ishant won't settle with just being the workhorse, but India's is a flawed attack. It has a flawed leader. That's why India find themselves facing an uphill task every time with the bat. Still Ishant is doing something right. Consistently. If India do go on to win or draw this Test, it will come down to the batsmen, but Ishant will have played no small role in it.