Virat Kohli was left awestruck and immensely elated after Akash Deep smacked Pat Cummins for a monstrous six on the final over of Day 4’s play in the ongoing third Test match at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday. Having started on 51/4, India battled several rain interruptions as KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja fought hard in the middle to save the follow-on against the hosts.
With both Rahul and Jadeja departing at 84 and 77 respectively, the last pair of Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah were trusted with the most difficult job. Coming in after the fall of Jadeja’s wicket with India still needing 33 runs to avoid follow-on, Akash Deep paired with Bumrah and played the most significant innings of his short international career.
While Bumrah held on one end, it was Akash Deep, who pushed for one and two to keep the scoreboard ticking and kept pressure on the opposition. The Bihar-born lad, who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket, played the likes of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon with enought maturity and composure as India neared the 246-run mark (follow-on limit).
With 242 runs on board, Akash Deep crunched Cummins over gully for a boundary, forcing wild celebrations in the Indian dressing room. The next ball, the right-hander sent a Cummins delivery for a huge six over mid-wicket with a clean strike, leaving Kohli absolutely awestruck.
In fact, if rumours are to be believed, bat with which Akash Deep was batting, was gifted to him by none other than Kohli himself.
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