Ishant helped me a lot, says Mohit Sharma

Hamilton, March 9 (IANS) Pacer Mohit Sharma, who has been a revelation in the ongoing cricket World Cup, credited injured Ishant Sharma for his own success.

"When I came over to Australia, Ishant helped me a lot. During our practices, he helped with his inputs like what should be the length with the new ball and with the old ball," Mohit said ahead of India's next Pool B match against Ireland here on Tuesday.

"Ishant has visited Australia twice, so he is very experienced and quite aware of the conditions in Australia. It helped a great deal that we used to discuss these things during practice sessions."

Mohit was named as Ishant's replacement in the Indian squad following the latter's knee injury. The Haryana fast bowler has been brilliant in the tournament, picking up six wickets so far with an economy rate of less than four in three of the four matches played.

“We have done pretty well as a unit. The way (Mohammed) Shami and Umesh (Yadav) are bowling, it has helped me a lot. They have been bowling really well and have been able to exert a lot of pressure up front," said the 26-year-old, who has played 16 One-Day Internationals (ODI).

"My job is to maintain that pressure so that (Ravichandran) Ashwin and (Ravindra) Jadeja are benefited from it later.”

After beating Pakistan, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and the West Indies on a trot, India qualified for the quarter-finals from Pool B. The defending champions will next take on associate member Ireland at Seddon Park here.

Grounds in New Zealand are relatively smaller than in Australia where India have played all four matches so far, and the bowlers have to get adjusted to the dimensions.

“There will be a difference in your thinking when you have to play in a small ground after playing in big grounds for a long time. You will have to change your lines but we can’t keep thinking too much about the size of the ground," added Mohit.

"It’s the same for both teams and we have to concentrate on our strengths and try and execute them to the best of our abilities.”

Asked about the Irish, who have defeated two Test teams in the World Cup so far, Mohit said: “They have played 2-3 good games and have a chance to qualify for the knockouts. They have a good team and we have to play well to beat them and we will try to do well.”