The young Indian pacer Akash Deep brought his batting prowess to display as India took on England in the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. Deep was sent in to bat at four, as a night watchman at the fag end of Day 2.
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Former India coach Sanjay Bangar described the management's call to send in Akash Deep as a night watchman as a brave decision. Bangar also heaped praises on the young Indian pacer for his determination with the bat.
Sanjay Bangar believes sending Akash Deep as a nightwatchman was a brave call
Deep was sent in as the night watchman at the fag end of Day 2 of the Oval Test between India and England. Sai Sudharsan got dismissed with only a few minutes of play left on Day 2, which prompted Team India to send in a night watchman to protect their main batters.
Deep remained not out overnight and took on the opposition with a counter-attacking knock on Day 3. He ended with 66 off 94 balls, preventing the English bowlers from taking wickets early on in the day and at the same time adding valuable runs to the team's total.
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Sanjar Bangar, the former India coach, has now praised the young star for playing the vital knock, and he believes that India's decision to have him as a night watchman was a brave call, given the batting depth that India had for the game.
Talking to ESPNcricinfo, Bangar said:
"It was a very brave call to send him as nightwatchman when you have batting depth till No. 8. He wasn’t really going hell for leather. There was a lot of method in what he did. He was quite happy to play to certain plans. Except for the one over, he batted the entire innings against pace bowlers."
Deep managed to trouble the English bowlers, as he not only held one end, but also ensured that the score kept moving. His knock off 66, which was also his first half-century in International cricket, included 12 fours, most of which were shots of authority and not any luck.
"The conditions have been helpful, and he was thoughtful in the sense that he was very sure in his defense. Because of that effort, they literally took away the wind from the bowling line-up of England. Had it not been for Akash Deep’s contribution, who knows India might have been dismissed slightly earlier," Bangar added.
India ended their second innings at 396, giving England a target of 374 to clinch the series. With the series nicely poised at 2-1 in favour of England, the fourth day of the Oval Test might well prove to be one of the most exciting days of the series.