Zak Crawley was on his knees, or rather, was brought to his knees by a delivery designed by the Devil. Right-arm pacer Akash Deep, who was making his Test debut at the JSCA Stadium, on Friday, could not have possibly envisaged a ball better than that.
The ball had pitched on a good length, closer to the imaginary off-side wide line than to the stumps. It then crackled back into the batter, evading the English opener’s outstretched bat.
The ball, which was starting to lose its sheen, kissed the top of the off stump, ticking the bail off in the process – pretty close to a dream delivery for a seasoned fast bowler, let alone a debutant.
Akash Deep celebrates the wicket of England’s Zak Crawley on the first day of the fourth Test cricket match between India and England, at the JSCA International Stadium Complex, in Ranchi. | Photo Credit: PTI
What made it better was that Akash had done exactly the same thing, against the very same batter, a few overs ago – pitching outside off, angling in, stumps going for a toss - the whole package. But unfortunately for the pacer, that came off a no-ball, temporarily denying him a maiden Test wicket.
“As an individual, I didn’t feel very bad [about the no-ball wicket] because I knew that if I didn’t get him out, then someone else in my team would,” Akash said after Stumps on Day 1.
“But when he hit [Mohammed] Siraj for three fours and a six in the next over, I felt very bad. Because I didn’t want my team to be behind in the match because of me. So yeah, I was a bit tense because he scores his runs very quickly too.”
Crawley was already a bruised man, courtesy of a first-over snorter from Mohammed Siraj, which struck him on his glove. He was beaten multiple times before and after his reprieve against Akash.
But true to the code of Bazball, the English opener refused to cow down. He crashed three fours on the trot against Siraj – an off drive, an on drive and a glance – and then deposited the Indian pacer past the mid-wicket fence.
Just like that, Crawley was batting on 41, with a strike rate faintly over 100.
Meanwhile, Akash had shrugged off his disappointment by scalping the wickets of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope in the same over to give India a perfect start to the fourth Test.
Bowling from the Amitabh Choudhary end, he had taken into account the pronounced cracks on the pitch and opted for a wider approach from the crease. The angle was an add-on to his good length and hurrying pace, which constantly crept past 140 clicks.
He would combine all these elements to deliver the perfect ball, ending Crawley’s counter-punch as a closing note to his menacing seven-over spell that wiped off the English top-order.
“When I was bowling with the new ball, he [Crawley] was trying to attack me on both sides of the wicket. When I was bowling closer to the stumps, there wasn’t much happening with the ball. It wasn’t even swinging even after three overs,” Akash added.
“So, I tried to bowl from the corner of the crease and I got the shape where everything was seaming in. It wasn’t coming in off the crack but off the seam.”
If England was tottering before, it was now left on the floor – much like Crawley – by a player who could have well not been playing this Test.
Akash got his chance today only after India decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah. Despite spinners Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and even quicks like Mukesh Kumar being available, the sword rested on the shoulders of Akash.
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The 27-year-old had done his cause no harm with a productive outing against the English Lions earlier this year when he accounted for 13 scalps in three matches at a healthy average of 18.
Born in the neighbouring state of Bihar, Akash found his way into cricket with Bengal, representing the side consistently at the domestic level since 2019.
A First-Class wicket tally of 104 at an impressive average of 23.58 before this Test was another pointer for the Indian management to go with the right-arm pacer, with coach Rahul Dravid handing over the cap to the debutant.
A proud Akash then posed for the photographers with his even prouder family, spotting the bright Indian blue cap, which he refused to take off even while marking his run-up before the game.
“Like any kid who plays cricket, it was my dream also to play Test cricket for India. I got my Test cap midway between the place I belong to and the place I play cricket for,” Akash said.
“It was very emotional but I also felt that there was a responsibility on my shoulders to do something for the team.”
Akash closed off the day with another probing, but wicketless spell, ending with figures of 3/70.
“I want to dedicate this performance to my father. He wanted his son to do something in his life but I couldn’t do anything while he was alive. So this is for him,” added Akash.
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