Akash Deep. Pic Credits: Getty Images

ENG vs IND : Ravichandran Ashwin’s Direct Jibe On Akash Deep & Shubman Gill

Akash Deep was the star of the show as the Indian cricket team created history at the Edgbaston Cricket Ground as the Shubman Gill-led Indian cricket team created history and won the second Test match of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy by a stunning margin of 336 runs, which is their biggest winning margin away from home as well as their first in Birmingham.
Akash Deep was left out of the playing XI for the series opener at Leeds, which India lost by five wickets. Akash Deep replaced star pacer Jasprit Bumrah in the playing XI and had big shoes to fill as the team’s talisman missed out due to workload management with the team 1-0 down in the series.
Akash Deep put up a performance that will go down in the history books as he took four wickets in the first innings while conceding just 88 runs. This included the big wickets of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook, and Chris Woakes. The 28-year-old went one better in the second innings with a six-wicket haul while conceding just 60 runs. He got the wickets of Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, and Shoaib Bashir.

Akash Deep Sets World Record enroute his 10 wicket haul vs England

Akash Deep finished with figures of 10/187, which is the best a visiting pacer in history at Edgbaston. Akash Deep is only the second non-English fast bowler to get a 10-wicket haul at the ground in history. The previous instance of the same happening was also by an Indian, when Chetan Sharma took a 10-wicket haul in 1986.

Visiting Pacers With Best Bowling Figures at Edgbaston
Player Country Figures Year
Akash Deep India 10/187 2025
Chetan Sharma India 10/188 1986
Joel Garner West Indies 9/108 1984
Imran Khan Pakistan 9/136 1982
Asif Mahmood Pakistan 9/160 1971
Apart from the quicks, legendary spinners Muttiah Muralitharan (2006) and Shane Warne (2005) are the only other bowlers from a visiting team to take a 10-wicket haul at the venue. Chetan and Akash Deep are also the only two Indian pacers to take a ten-wicket haul in a Test match on English soil in history at any ground.
Jasprit Bumrah and Zaheer Khan have taken nine-wicket hauls previously at Trent Bridge in 2021 and 2007, respectively.Akash Deep’s six-wicket haul is only the second instance of a visiting pacer taking a six-wicket haul at Edgbaston in the 21st century after Mohammed Siraj, who did that in the first innings of this match. Following his heroics at Edgbaston, Former Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was in all praise of this rising Indian pacer for his brilliant spell vs England stating that Akash Deep should have awarded Player of the Match award.

Ravichandran Ashwin believes that Akash Deep for his brilliant 10-fer should have been Player of the Match

India’s second Test win against England in Edgbaston had many heroes – Shubman Gill, Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj to name a few. The ‘Player of the Match’ award, however, went to captain Shubman Gill, who slammed a double ton and century to boost India’s cause. Akash Deep was the hero with the ball as he picked 10 wickets. According to Ravichandran Ashwin, Akash Deep would have been good choice for the ‘Player of the Match’ award.

“This might be a big statement to make, but Akash Deep should have been awarded the Player of the match. Shubman Gill batted beautifully, no amount of praise would be enough. Gill has created history, records are there to be made and he’s re-written it, no doubt about it,” Ashwin said on “Ash Ki Baat.”

“But all said and done, Akash Deep’s six-fer in the second innings and his four wickets in the first innings. Because of those four wickets, Siraj was able to get the six wickets in the first innings.

Akash Deep was delivering the ball from different angles with the same wrist position. I don’t have a problem with the man of the match. I don’t buy the theory about heroes. In an IPL match, there are super fours, super sixes, super 12s, fastest delivery you give all these awards. You can give them in Tests as well, bowler of the match and batsman of the match.”  he concluded

After a brilliant bowling performance at Edgbaston by Mohammed Siraj, who took a total of seven wickets, including a first innings six-wicket haul and Akash Deep, who registered India’s second ten-wicket haul and best bowling figures in England, Team India would be excited by the return of Bumrah, as confirmed by skipper Shubman Gill after winning second Test, for the prestigious Lord’s fixture and the very idea of fielding Siraj, Bumrah and Akash together.

With the next Test starting in only three days’ time, it would be interesting to see what sort of pitch the hosts prepare, considering the result in Birmingham.  India on the other hand, whose chances were doubted after England’s fine win in Headingley last week, leave Birmingham with their first Test victory at Edgbaston at the ninth attempt.It also brilliantly sets up the remainder of the series, which continues at Lord’s on Thursday having a series levelled at 1-1.

Also Read: ENG vs IND : Shubman Gill Appointed Test Skipper For Red Ball

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