Fast bowlers, it is generally agreed, are an eccentric lot. Some of the very best – Lillee, Thomson, the fearsome West Indian quartet, Steyn – all had and have their idiosyncrasies.  The motivation to run in again and again, straining each and every muscle of one's hands and legs, often on pitches which barely resemble a road, perhaps require a special type of mental conditioning.

Ishant Sharma may not be a patch on Lillee but when he draws himself up to his massive six-foot frame, he looks a formidable figure. As he squared up against Rangana Herath on Sunday, the image was almost comical. A pint-sized Herath standing almost at Sharma’s elbow, peering up at him – both of them glaring at each other.

But that was nothing compared to the show Sharma put up on Monday. India had done well to plug the gap – from a precarious 21/3, they had recovered nicely to swell the lead beyond 300. Both Ashwin and Mishra had frustrated the Sri Lankan bowlers on a day with over 85 percent humidity. It was a boiling day and something had to give.

Ishant rattles the Lankans…

Dhammika Prasad had bowled his heart out, despite the injury he had secured while batting in the first innings. Finally in the 76th over of India’s second innings, a frustrated Prasad tried to bounce Sharma out. Sharma coolly ducked and gave a derisory sort of smirk at Prasad. Words started being exchanged, the keeper Chandimal brushed past Sharma before the umpires cooled things down.

But Sharma wasn’t going to take the provocation lying down. He nudged the next ball away for a single and while running down, gestured towards his helmet as if goading Prasad to hit him there. Prasad decided to take up the bait – the next time Sharma came on strike, Prasad bowled a ferocious bouncer which swayed past Ishant before giving him an hostile glare. Keep in mind that all this was happening before even a year had passed of Phil Hughes’ tragic death, felled by a bouncer while batting in an Australian domestic game.

Things took a comical turn next. The next over, the final wicket of the innings fell. Then everyone was treated to the strange sight of Ishant scurrying towards the dressing room with Prasad in hot pursuit. When the Indian team came out to field, it seemed the incident had served to aggravate them further. The chatter around the crease increased - the celebrations after a wicket become more exuberant while the send-offs seemed decidedly more in-your-face.

…and then goes berserk

It was Ishant though who had the final laugh. As any cricket expert would point out, aggression is great but if you can’t back it up, then it becomes comical. After his antics while batting, there was every chance that Ishant could turn out to be the pantomime villain. He had decidedly other ideas – just like in the first innings, his bowling was excellent, on impeccable lengths which the Sri Lankan top order couldn’t help but edging at. It was a fantastic spell yet again from an aggressive Sharma and he rounded it with a send-off to Chandimal that...well, it's better to just see it because it just can't be described.

There’s a thin line between aggressiveness and boorishness. At times, it seemed Kohli’s team did cross the line a bit in that brief period. But to give credit where it’s due, they backed it up with their performance. Sri Lanka were overwhelmed by India’s hostile and aggressive bowling – by the fourth over, they had already lost two wickets. By the end of the seventh over, they had lost their third. Angelo Mathews, Sri Lanka’s unflappable captain, did come out and cool things down a bit, but the damage had already been done. With Sri Lanka at 67/3 chasing a massive 386, they’ll need nothing short of a miracle to avoid defeat. Kohli’s boys are in sight of achieving a rare distinction, a series win in Sri Lanka after 22 years.