Who would have thought at the end of day two, that India would continue to pile on runs on the third day, and be in a strong position for a win? Well, ask Akash Deep this, and he certainly seems to have some different plans. Coming into bat as a nightwatchman, after the fall of Sai Sudharsan, with the scoreboard reading 70/2, not only he brought up 50 partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal, but also went on to score his maiden Test fifty, that too in only 70 deliveries.
Akash Deep Scores 50 at No. 4
What was the most striking part about his innings was — he never looked uncomfortable during his stay at the wicket, and dictated terms against the likes of Gus Atkinson, Jamie Overton and Josh Tongue. In fact, he went on to hit 9 fours along the way, stamping his authority over a strong English attack.
Yes, he was dropped once by Zak Crawley, but by then he had already scored 20-odd runs, and his job as a nightwatchman was done. This fifty also meant, that he only became the fourth Indian batter at No. 4, to score a fifty in England since 2000 — after Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill.
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Meanwhile, this is Akash Deep’s second FC fifty, and had earlier scored one in Ranji Trophy for Bengal, where he brought up the milestone in only 18 deliveries. As far as his bowling in this match is concerned, after a heated battle with Ben Duckett, he went on to dismiss him, which remained his only wicket in the innings.
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