London, Aug 3 Former India batter Sanjay Bangar lavished praise on pacer Akash Deep's fluent batting effort in the second innings that provided a vital boost to the visiting side in the ongoing fifth Test against England at The Oval.
Akash played a memorable knock of 66 runs, laced with 12 fours and was involved in a 107-run third-wicket partnership with opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. The duo not only rescued India's innings but also set the platform for the batters to come.
“Akash Deep took his chances early on against Bethell in the very first over, but after that, he was very, very thoughtful. He played like a proper batsman; he is capable of batting, and he was the one who saved India from a follow-on in the Brisbane Test match. He showed a lot of heart and wasn't afraid of the short ball.
"He took his chances when the field was up, defended when the field was back, and ran really well between the wickets. Yashasvi Jaiswal's contribution was also immense in that partnership, as he made sure Akash Deep stayed in the zone and helped him stitch that partnership together," Bangar said on JioHotstar.
Jaiswal's 118, along with dual half-centuries from all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, guided India to 396, setting a target of 374 for England.
In response, England reached 50 for 1 at stumps, with Mohammed Siraj delivering a crucial breakthrough just before the close of play on Saturday. He produced a pinpoint off-stump yorker to dismiss the towering Zak Crawley, giving India a slight edge heading into day four.
Bangar praised India’s discipline with the ball in the final session. “Credit to India that they didn't allow the English batters to run away with the game. Both these teams were playing the waiting game; even somebody like Duckett wasn’t really charging down the wicket or playing those reverse scoops. They knew they had to hang on, and they took a few blows on their fingers as well. But all in all, to end a Day like that would certainly mean that India would go to bed the happier team. Because had they not got this particular wicket, you know what damage the England openers can do, and so far they have been very, very effective in the series.”
“A wicket makes a massive difference. Both openers were very, very confident. Crawley even took one ball on the bicep, and Duckett was hit on the fingers. Prasidh and Akash Deep, to me, were the pick of the bowlers in that small spell.
"All three bowlers made life difficult for the English batters. The fact that they were imaginative, like having a sweeper cover for Zak Crawley, or even the smart placement of a slightly deeper square leg for Duckett, made the batters think about where their scoring opportunities were. So, credit to India for coming out with different plans and forcing the English batters to adjust. It was good cricket all around," Bangar added.
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