New Delhi [India], August 10 : The Oval Test will go down as one of India's most hard-fought victories in recent memory, a tense six-run win that levelled the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2. For Akash Deep, the final day was all about belief, pressure, and execution.
Recalling the mindset when India took the field on the last day of the final Test, Akash said to Boria Majumdar on Revsportz, "We were bowling on the second day when the wicket was not much help and there was no movement. Our belief was that England is such a team where if you can break partnerships and take 1-2 wickets, then they give you wickets in bunches, and come under pressure. The way they were playing, I felt it would have been very stressful for them to bat under pressure and win the match from there. So, our plan was to just bowl in the right areas and they were under pressure. So, overall it worked out."
The pressure only heightened when England reached 301/3, chasing 374. In the Indian dressing room, the tension was palpable.
"Yes, it was intense and there was pressure. But I guess that pressure made us aggressive and the game turned out to be good for us. The pressure helped us focus and notice what was going on better. The crowd played a big part in the evening, as it totally changed - cheering for us after cheering for England before that. After playing for so long, the body was very tired but the crowd's energy gave us a lot of enthusiasm," Akash revealed.
Coming to the match, after England opted to bowl first, they reduced India to 153/6. A 58-run partnership between Karun Nair (57 in 109 balls, with eight fours) and Washington Sundar (26 in 55 balls, with three fours) was the most meaningful part of the inning as India was bundled out for 224 runs. Apart from Gus Atkinson's five-wicket haul, Josh Tongue (3/57) was also good.
In the second innings, four-fers from Siraj (4/86) and Prasidh Krishna (4/62) reduced England to 247, despite a 92-run opening stand between Zak Crawley (64 in 57 balls, with 14 fours) and Ben Duckett (43 in 38 balls, with five fours and two sixes) and a fifty by Harry Brook (53 in 64 balls, with five fours and a six). They led by 23 runs.
In India's second innings, key contributions came from Yashasvi Jaiswal (118 in 164 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes), Akash Deep (66 in 94 balls, with 12 fours), Ravindra Jadeja (53 in 77 balls, with five fours) and Washington Sundar (53 in 46 balls, with four boundaries and four sixes). Sundar stitched a very crucial 10th wicket stand with Krishna, with the latter scoring nothing out of it and Sundar doing all the hitting.
They all took India to 396 runs, giving them a 373-run lead and setting a target of 374 runs for England to win the series.
India started well, reducing England to 106/3. However, fine centuries from Harry Brook (111 in 98 balls, with 14 fours and two sixes) and Joe Root (105 in 152 balls, with 12 fours) troubled India with a 195-run stand for the fourth wicket. At one point, England was 317/4 on day four. However, a late surge by Siraj (5/104) and Krishna (4/126) shifted the pressure to England, and they were left six runs short, bundled out for 367 runs.
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