Ishant played four matches for Sussex in the County Championship Division Two earlier this year, scalping an impressive 15 wickets and even scoring a half-century.
India lost five batsmen before skipper Virat Kohli (43) and Dinesh Karthik (18) combined for a crucial unbeaten sixth-wicket partnership.
While Ishant took five wickets, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin scalped three as England added 171 runs to their overnight score of nine for one.
Kohli admitted that he would have loved to take even a slender lead over England before his team fell short of matching their score by 13 runs.
Ahead of the opening Test starting in Birmingham on Wednesday, he also said that as per the skill-set, both teams are at par.
Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma shared four wickets between them as Essex batsmen made India toil hard by reaching 237 for five on the second day.
With 238 wickets in 82 Test matches, Ishant is the most capped player in the current Indian Test team and is ready to lead the pace attack comprising of Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami.
The maestro said even though India have had some quality seamers, they never had the "luxury" of such a varied battery.
After going unsold at the IPL auction, the 29-year-old pacer was signed by Sussex for the first two months of the English County season.
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The Sussex County will be getting Ishant's services from April 4 to June 4, making him available for the first five fixtures in the County Championship and all eight Royal London One-Day Cup group matches.
The Delhi 15-man squad will also feature IPL franchise Delhi Daredevils' new skipper Gautam Gambhir, former Delhi skipper Rishab Pant, Unmukt Chand and Kshitiz Sharma.
Speaking about the omission of Ajinkya Rahane from the first two Tests against South Africa, the 'Turbanator' feels that there is no guarantee that things would have been different had Rahane played.
The players witnessed an entirely different side of South Africa as they took out time to explore the wildlife with their respective families.
In the first innings, senior pacer Ishant ended with figures of 3 for 46 on his return to the playing eleven.
Kohli's 16th Test half-century showed his determination to keep India alive in a series where they already trail 1-0 and are fighting to justify their No. 1 ranking.
he former cricketers feel Indian skipper Virat Kohli's move to play Ishant Sharma in the second Test at the expense of Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a baffling one.
Ishant Sharma who is included in the Test squad for the South Africa tour was benched for the first Test where India lost by 72 runs.
By far the most experienced pacer out of the five, Ishant, has been bowling well of late but he is not a sure starter in the playing eleven.
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