Struggling Ishant sweats it out in nets with bowling coach

Under-fire Indian pacer Ishant Sharma whose sloppy bowling cost India the third One-Day International against Australia, worked overtime with bowling coach Joe Dawes on Monday even as his team mates took a day's break ahead of their fourth match in Ranchi.

Dawes was seen giving an extra attention to the struggling Ishant, who slogged it out for about a couple of hours, fine-tuning his line and length at the nets in the afternoon session at the JSCA Stadium.

India's reserve pacer Jaydev Unadkat was summoned for the optional practice as he too was seen bowling in tandem with Ishant who was smashed by James Faulkner for 30 runs including four sixes in the 48th over to help Australia snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

The Australians, who lead the seven-match series 2-1, had a full practice session in the morning.

Meanwhile, heavy rains lashed the city for more than an hour in the evening even as the ground remained under cover leaving the fans worried in Dhoni's home town ahead of the fourth ODI on Wednesday.

But the weather did not dampen the mood of the fans in Ranchi as the tickets for the 40,000 capacity stadium were almost sold out.

This will be the second international match to be played in Ranchi in a year as the newly-built JSCA Stadium had hosted its first match on January 19, when India thrashing England by seven wickets.

Image: India's coach Duncan Fletcher with Ishant Sharma in the nets.

Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images