Sreesanth was selected for his first Test squad in the home series against England in March 2006, in place of Zaheer Khan. He claimed 4/95 in his debut appearance in the 1st Test in Nagpur, where he opened the bowling with Irfan Pathan. He was ruled out of the second Test in Mohali due to illness, but recovered and captured five wickets as well a 29* with the bat in the Third Test in Mumbai. With the axing of Pathan, Sreesanth became India's leading pace bowler on the tour of the West Indies. He missed the second Test due to an injury but managed to claim his best match figures of 5/72 in the 4th Test in Kingston, Jamaica.
Sreesanth's most significant performance to date in Test cricket was his role in the 1st Test of India's 2006 tour to South Africa at Johannesburg. After losing the limited-overs series 4-0, Sreesanth produced took 5-40 in a display of pace and swing to help dismiss South Africa. This performance helped to bowl South Africans out for just 84
In September 2007, Sreesanth joined the Indian team in South Africa for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup following his omission for the one-day series in England. Sreesanth managed breakthroughs at critical junctures that were vital to his team's success. During the semifinal match against Australia which India won, Sreesanth got the vital wickets of the Australian openers Gilchrist and Hayden. The latter proved to be decisive in turning the match round in India's favour. In the final against Pakistan, Sreesanth proved expensive with the ball, but became the centre of Indian celebrations as he held on to the catch that sealed Pakistan's innings and made Indians the World Twenty20 champions
S Sreesanth rocked Sri Lanka with a an impressive three-wicket burst as the visitors huffed and puffed their way to 138 for five at lunch on Day Three of the second Test against India on Thursday.
Replying to India's mammoth first innings total of 642, Sri Lanka resumed on 66 for one before Sreesanth wreaked havoc to push the islanders into a hole that got deeper and deeper.
Let off twice by the Indians, Mahela Jayawardene was batting on 26 at lunch in company of Prasanna Jayawardene (2) with Sri Lanka still trailing the hosts by a massive 504 runs.
Back in the side after 19 months in the wilderness, Sreesanth grabbed with both hands what the Green Park track had to offer to him. He got rid of both the overnight batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Tharanga Paranavitana.
Sree could have added Jayawardene to his scalp but for a confusion between Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar. Sreesanth hit Paranavitana (38) on the shoulder to signal his intention before prising him out and nearly had Mahela Jayawardene caught for a duck but Dhoni and Tendulkar could not decide who should go for it and let the ball race away for a four.
Sreesanth removed Sangakkara (44) and Thilan Samaraweera (2) in similar fashion - both dragging the ball onto their stumps - to compound Sri Lanka's misery.
Having lost Tillakaratne Dilshan for a golden duck on Wednesday, both the overnight batsmen began cautiously but with Sreesanth exploiting the early juice in the wicket, life for the Lankan batsmen was never easy.
Paranavitana edged Sreesanth for a streaky boundary but it was clear that he was in all sorts of trouble against the Kerala pacer, who bent his back and maintained a probing line.
Paranavitana copped one on his body as well when he took his eyes off a bouncer and Sreesanth finally had him when the batsman poked at an away-going delivery and Dhoni dived to his left to pouch a smart catch.
The same alacrity was, however, missing in the very next ball which came off new man in Mahela Jayawardene's blade and Dhoni did not even made an attempt as the ball raced through between him and Tendulkar at first slip.
Sreesanth was understandably exasperated but he did not have to wait long for his next success.
Sangakkara could not gauge the slowness of the track and played a fractionally premature shot to drag the Sreesanth delivery onto his stumps. Another 10 runs on board and Sri Lanka were without the service of Thilan Samaraweera (2), whose exit was virtually a carbon copy of Sangakkara's dismissal.
An excellent bowling performance from Shanthakumaran Sreesanth on the third day of the Second Test put India in sight of a comprehensive victory against Sri Lanka in Kanpur.
Sreesanth claimed five first-innings wickets as Sri Lanka were skittled for a meagre 229 in response to India's first-innings total of 642. Mahendra Singh Dhoni then chose to enforce the follow-on and Sreesanth again provided the breakthrough by dismissing the dangerous Tillakaratne Dilshan (11) as India tightened the noose.
The home side then picked up the wickets of Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene cheaply as Sri Lanka ended the third day on 57 for four, still 356 behind India's first-innings score.
The toast of the day, however, was Sreesanth as he made a triumphant return to international cricket. The temperamental fast bowler was playing his first match since the Test against South Africa at this same venue after being ruled out for 18 months while recovering from injury.
The 26-year-old produced the first breakthrough in the morning when Paranavitana edged an outswinger to Dhoni after adding only eight to his overnight score of 30.
Meanwhile, India's bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan had looked off-colour all day and was warned in the morning for running on the pitch. But the left-arm seamer's lack of form played nicely into Sreesanth's hands as he bowled unchanged in an extended spell of nine overs.
He bowled Sangakkara (44) via an inside edge as the batsman got down on one knee to drive and removed Samaraweera in similar fashion. Minutes before the lunch interval, Harbhajan had caused further damage by bowling Mathews with one that turned just enough to beat the bat and clip the bails.
Sri Lanka had slipped to 138 for five at the lunch interval, but Mahela Jayawardene (47) and Prasanna Jayawardene (39) came together to offer a semblance of resistance. The former captain, however, was fortunate to have stayed that long as Sreesanth had found his edge on the first delivery he faced, the ball safely falling between Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar at first slip. Rahul Dravid then dropped another catch at first slip when the batsman was on 25 – this time Harbhajan was the unfortunate bowler.
The two Jayawardenes held firm in the first hour after lunch and in the process added 60 for the sixth wicket – Sri Lanka's only substantial stand after the 82 between the second-wicket pair.
But Sreesanth returned to sever the partnership, claiming the wicket of Prasanna Jayawardene in the second over of his afternoon spell when the batsman feathered a top edge to Dhoni.
Sri Lanka's innings then unravelled quickly, with Sreesanth pegging back Rangana Herath's off stump for his fifth wicket – only his second five-wicket haul in Tests.
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