Up to date on: Aug 01, 2025 07:46 pm IST
Akash Deep’s uncommon gesture in the direction of Ben Duckett after his dismissal drew criticism. KL Rahul’s well timed intervention prevented additional escalation.
If Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley’s onslaught towards the brand new ball was not sufficient, India pacer Akash Deep drew extra flak for the best way he behaved after dismissing Duckett. Earlier than the beginning of the fifth Check at The Oval, Akash Deep had dismissed Duckett thrice in as many matches. The needle between the 2 was fairly evident on Day 2. If it wasn’t for KL Rahul’s accountable behaviour, issues might have spiralled uncontrolled between Duckett and Akash Deep.
Akash Deep began off fairly properly with the brand new ball. He beat Duckett on a few events and almost bought him out caught at gully. After being put below strain by Akash, Duckett flicked a change within the fourth over. He reverse-flicked the Indian pacer over the slip cordon for a six. That incident modified issues dramatically.
Duckett determined to take the aggressive route, notably towards Akash. He charged down the observe to hit Akash Deep for 3 fours within the subsequent over and continued to press on the accelerator.
India, nonetheless, persevered with Akash Deep and the plan labored within the thirteenth over. Duckett performed one extravagant shot too many and was out caught whereas attempting to aim a reverse sweep. Akash Deep celebrated the wicket with a roar and a fist bump however it was what he did afterwards that drew the eyeballs.
As a substitute of continuous the celebration together with his teammates, Akash Deep turned to Duckett, put his arms across the England opener’s shoulder and mentioned one thing with a smile. It was a relatively uncommon gesture for a batter who had simply been dismissed. A faculty of thought would say that Akash Deep was appreciating Duckett’s audacious show however possibly his timing might have been higher, particularly after England had raced to 92 in 12.5 overs.
Dinesh Karthik and Mike Atherton positively felt Akash Deep ought to have averted doing that. They credited Duckett for not reacting in another way to Akash Deep’s detached send-off.
What apparently missed the attention right here was the function of senior India batter KL Rahul. Seeing Akash Deep placing his arms round Duckett, Rahul intervened and tapped the Indian pacer on the shoulder in a non-verbal message to let it go. After Rahul’s faucet on the shoulder, Akash Deep ended his tete-a-tete with Duckett and joined his teammates.
Earlier within the day, India, after resuming at 204/6, have been bowled out for 224. They misplaced their final 4 wickets for 20 runs as in a single day batters Karun Nair and Washington Sundar couldn’t stick with it the great work. Gus Atkinson picked up three of the 4 wickets to have fun his comeback to Check cricket with a five-for.
