NEW DELHI: When Akash Deep walked out to bat at Gabba on Tuesday, India looked dead, almost getting ready to be buried. The score was 213/9. Ravindra Jadeja had fallen without finishing the job after a competent 77. Safety still lay 33 distant runs beyond. A follow-on looked inevitable. But Akash surprised the cricket world.
Once his senior partner Jasprit Bumrah had powered a six over deep fine leg, Akash took charge. He not only defended with assurance, but also essayed square drives, struck back-foot shots on the up. He was unflustered by anything that Cummins and Starc threw at him. In his unbeaten 31-ball stay, he played only one false shot: a French cut off Cummins.
Without the hosts even realising it, he hustled them. His upper cut for four not only saved India from follow-on, but had the Indian dressing room in boisterous glee. If something draws out a smile from coach Gautam Gambhir, it must be really special.
As a No. 11, Akash’s unbeaten 27 is second only to Shivlal Yadav’s 41 in Adelaide 1985 for an Indian cricketer in Australia. The unbroken 39-run partnership, where Bumrah contributed 10, has not only bolstered India’s chance of wrenching out a draw, but equally importantly, is the badly-needed inspirational act for the struggling batters.
The duo’s approach underlined that no matter how hard the situation is, goals can be achieved if you put your mind to it. As the song from the 1977 Hindi film, 'Aadmi Sadak Ka' goes, 'koi kaam nahi hai mushkil jab kiya irada pukka'. Such sentiments may not be hard to understand for Akash Deep, who overcame life’s many hardships to reach where he is today.
Earlier, he had toiled without luck while bowling. His figures (1/95) don’t reveal the number of times he beat Steve Smith and Travis Head. With this innings, he has given himself a belated birthday gift having turned 28 last week.
