Kolkata: "Well bowled, hard luck". This heart-breaking combination of words was Ishant Sharma's constant companion for nearly a decade since his Test debut in Bangladesh in June 2007. The promise a five-wicket haul in his first appearance in India—against Pakistan in Bangalore that same December—and his sensational spell to Ricky Ponting in Perth in January 2008 increasingly began to look like aberrations as Ishant struggled to translate early promise to consistent potency.

On Saturday, Ishant added four to his five first innings scalps in the pink ball Test against Bangladesh.