Akash, who joined opener Yashasvi Jaiswal as nightwatchman on Day 2—was dropped on 21 and went on to bring up his maiden Test half-century, laced with 12 boundaries, before falling to Jamie Overton for 66.
Pacer Akash Deep’s maiden Test fifty on the third morning of the Oval Test earned widespread praise from cricket pundits, with former India wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik calling his stroke-filled 66 a “wonderful effort” that has put the visitors in a commanding position in the fifth and final match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
With the pitch flattening out, Akash, who joined opener Yashasvi Jaiswal as nightwatchman on Day 2—was dropped on 21 and went on to bring up his maiden Test half-century, laced with 12 boundaries, before falling to Jamie Overton for 66. By then, he had done far more than what was expected of a nightwatchman, sharing a decisive 107-run partnership with Jaiswal.
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“They couldn’t have asked for anything more from him. All they wanted was probably for him to just get through last night, which he did quite comfortably. But today, he came out and played wonderfully well. He gave a chance early on—when you drop catches, that’s what happens. That’s the last thing you want, especially when you’re already a depleted bowling attack,” said Karthik.
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“He also got lucky. A couple of the balls he edged found the gaps in the slip cordon. But all in all, I think it was a wonderful effort. You can pretty much assess the mindset of a team based on how their tailenders bat.”
“I think Michael Atherton put it nicely—saying that if you have your No. 9, 10, and 11 fighting it out there for you, like what Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah did at Lord’s, those small moments actually inspire the team.”
“Akash Deep’s effort with the bat, and the applause he received when walking back, means so much to the team. What he’s done has actually taken India to a very strong position. From here, you’d expect the main batters to dig in and take India to a dominant place,” Karthik added on Sky Sports during the lunch break.
‘One of the best England tours by an Indian Team’
Karthik did not hesitate to call the ongoing series one of India’s finest tours of England in recent times.
“I think this is one of the best series India have had in England, for sure—because of how competitive they’ve been from day one,” said Karthik.
“If you just look at the number of sessions India have won, the fact that they are still trailing 2–1 shows how hard it is to beat England at home. This is a young team that’s going to lead India’s Test cricket for the next 10 years.”
Analyzing England’s bowling performance after the first session—where they managed just the solitary wicket of Akash Deep—former England captain Nasser Hussain pointed out the need for fuller lengths.
“They were okay in that morning session. Ricky Ponting made an excellent point—that while they bowled some good lengths, they now need to bowl fuller. There’s a lot of batting still to come, and England are a bowler down with Chris Woakes out. So, it’s a big session ahead,” Hussain said.
When asked about the right time for skipper Ollie Pope to turn to spin for an extended spell, former England pacer Stuart Broad said, “England’s legs are shaky. They’re a bowler down with Woakes injured, and the spinners haven’t been used because the conditions are so seam-friendly. So Pope has a tough decision to make.”
“When does he turn to Jacob Bethell or Joe Root to hold one end up and rotate the seamers from the other? It’s all India at the moment. England are under pressure, Pope is under pressure, and I’m not entirely sure what he can do,” Broad added.
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