Coming to bat as a nightwatchman, the youngster played a crucial knock of 66 runs which came in 94 deliveries. His inning was laced with 12 boundaries. He also milked 107 runs with opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal
Akash Deep (Pic: File Pic)
In the fifth and final Test match against England at The Oval, Team India's Akash Deep delivered a stunning performance with the willow.
"If we look at the matches we played, with the exception of one or two matches, the lower order was not making much runs overall. It's very crucial that the lower order - No. 9, 10, and 11 - add at least 25-30 runs for the team to do well," Akash told Boria Majumdar on Revsportz.
Coming to bat as a nightwatchman, he delivered a crucial knock of 66 runs, which came in 94 deliveries. His inning was laced with 12 boundaries.
He also milked 107 runs with opening batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal. Their partnership turned out to be one of the crucial moments for India to secure a 2-2 draw against the 'Three Lions'.
Akash Deep revealed that the plan was to grab the opportunity and spend as much time as possible at the crease.
"When I was sent as a nightwatchman, I wanted to use that opportunity and stay there for as long as possible. That was the only plan for the good of my team. In the morning, when I found them frustrated, I realised I can make some runs here too," he revealed.
One of the highlights of his innings was the stylish boundary that brought up his maiden Test fifty.
When asked whether it was planned or just instinct, Akash revealed, "I saw a chance that if the ball was down the legside, and it went up in the air, there was no fielder, so we could get a boundary there. The plan was that if the ball was in the leg-stump area, I would hit it in the air. The shot got mistimed a bit".
After completing his maiden half-century in the longest format of the game, the 28-year-old also joined the likes of Hugh Trumble, Shane Warne, Imran Khan, Keith Miller and Richard Hadlee to become the 12th player to register a ten-fer during a match and smash a fifty on an England tour.
Deep, with a first-class average of 11.48 before the Oval Test, is just the fourth Indian to score a men's Test fifty at No 4 in England this century, joining Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill.
Deep is also the first Indian nightwatchman to score 50-plus runs since Amit Mishra (84 runs) against the same opponent at the same venue back in 2011.
(With ANI Inputs)
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
