RP Singh praised Akash Deep for justifying the decision of the Indian team management to include him as the second seamer in the fourth Test against England. Given Jasprit Bumrah’s rest for the match, the debutant was chosen over Mukesh Kumar to partner with Mohammed Siraj.
Akash Deep delivered figures of 3/70 in 17 overs as England reached 302/7 in their first innings by Stumps on Day 1 (Friday, February 23) in Ranchi. In a conversation on Colors Cineplex, RP Singh was questioned about Akash Deep reaping the benefits of his efforts in domestic cricket. He replied:
“It’s a huge challenge to leave your state and play from another state, especially in our country, where there are so many players and everyone wants their spot. When you go to another state, you get less opportunities.”
“He made the most of those chances, performed there, and he got the reward for those performances today. He justified his selection. And He made the best impact a fast bowler could on this slow and low track.” the former India pacer added.
Born in Bihar, Akash Deep marked his debut in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal in December 2019. The right-arm seamer took 104 wickets in 30 first-class matches before making his Test debut.
“He located the length to hit the top of the off-stump on the Ranchi wicket”- RP Singh on Akash Deep’s specialty
RP Singh specifically praised Akash Deep for discovering the perfect length on the Ranchi pitch. He elaborated:
“The special thing in his bowling was that he found the length that would hit the top of the off-stump on this Ranchi wicket. The ball was moving, so he bowled the maximum deliveries on the seam. We saw him bowling with full effort and with the right intent even in his final spell.”
The former cricketer turned commentator believes that the nerves of the Bengal seamer had calmed down in the initial overs.
“We also got to see pace. He has a quick-arm action, which is not that easy to read. The best thing is that there are butterflies in the first match but they were probably calmed in the first one or two overs itself,” RP Singh added.
The seamer from Royal Challengers Bangalore dismissed Ben Duckett caught by Dhruv Jurel and Ollie Pope leg-before-wicket in his fifth over. He bowled Zak Crawley in the following over, bringing England to 57/3. However, Joe Root’s unbeaten 106 rescued the visitors from the difficult situation.
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