Akash Deep’s Dream Debut: Shattering Zak Crawley’s Stumps Twice, Overcoming No-Ball Setback to Dismiss Duckett and Pope

Akash Deep’s Dream Debut: Shattering Zak Crawley’s Stumps Twice, Overcoming No-Ball Setback to Dismiss Duckett and Pope

On the first day of the current fourth test between India and England in Ranchi on Friday, Akash Deep had a bittersweet start to his Test career. During the fourth over, the 27-year-old produced a beautiful delivery that nipped back from a length around off in the fifth delivery. Akash jumped with delight, thinking he had just claimed his maiden wicket in a Test match, as the ball flew past Zak Crawley’s inside edge and smacked the off stumps. The celebrations had to end because it was a front-foot no-ball, so the delight was short-lived when the siren sounded.

Here is the video:

Drama on debut for Akash Deep! 🤯😓

A wicket denied by the dreaded No-ball hooter🚨#IDFCFirstBankTestSeries #BazBowled #INDvENG #JioCinemaSports pic.twitter.com/uQ3jVnTQgW

— JioCinema (@JioCinema) February 23, 2024

It took until the tenth over for Akash to eventually take his first wicket, and this time it was a clean delivery. When Akash delivered a decent-length ball in the second ball of the over, Ben Duckett, who is left-handed, was the first to get it, and Dhruv Jurel had an easy catch to make. As Duckett left the field for 11 off 21 balls, Akash rejoiced once more. He dismissed Ollie Pope with another strike in the same over. Akash hit Pope in front of off with a ball that tucked back in from a length, beating him on the inside edge on the fourth delivery. After a review, India saw that the ball was striking the top of the middle stump and that Pope was out for a two-ball duck.

Then, in the 12th over’s fifth delivery, he dismissed Crawley. A nip-backer was sent to Crawley, but he misjudged it, and it struck the top of the stump, much to Akash’s delight! At forty-two balls, Crawley was out of the match. Ben Stokes, the captain of England, initially chose to bat after winning the toss. After the toss, Stokes commented that the pitch is a “bat-first” track, which helped to explain his choice. The captain of India, Rohit Sharma, also disclosed that he would have liked to bat first.

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“We also would have taken the bat first. has some fractures and seems a little dry, but this is the nature of the pitch. We must play similarly to how we did in the last two games, which were beneficial to us. I am proud of several young lads on the team, they have embraced the challenge and accepted the responsibilities. They have faith in their abilities, which is positive going forward. With Akash Deep making his debut, there is one change, Rohit added. With two decisive wins in Vizag and Rajot, the hosts overcame a shocking defeat in Hyderabad to grab a 2-1 series lead. They can secure the series and take an unstoppable 3-1 lead with a victory in Ranchi. If England wins, the series will move to Dharamshala for a winner-take-all match. India gave Jasprit Bumrah a rest, and KL Rahul is still not available. Rajat Patidar fills in for Rahul in the other batting position.