Ravichandran Ashwin believes India may have discovered a promising new batting talent during the ongoing Test at The Oval.Speaking on his Hindi YouTube channel after Day 3, Ashwin praised Akash Deep’s fearless approach and natural flair, describing it as “raw but exciting.”Akash Deep smashed his way to a maiden half-century, frustrating a lacklustre England and putting India in a strong position at lunch on Day 3 of the final Test at The Oval on Saturday.Resuming the day at 75 for two, India did exceedingly well to reach 189 for three at the break, with Yashasvi Jaiswal (85 not out off 106 balls) and Akash Deep (66 off 94 balls) sharing a 107-run stand off 150 balls.
The Indian pacer, who was on four overnight, was eventually dismissed by Jamie Overton towards the end of the session with a well-directed short ball aimed at his rib cage, leaving him in a tangle. Gus Atkinson took an easy catch at point.Akash Deep, who had just one first-class fifty to his name prior to this game, made his intentions clear in the first over of the day, bowled by left-arm spinner Jacob Bethell. The Indian cleared his front leg and dispatched Bethell over mid-wicket for a boundary.
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What aspect of Akash Deep’s batting impressed you the most?
He didn’t hold back against the fast bowlers either, especially Atkinson. He brought up his fifty with another slog off Atkinson. He was understandably fired up after his stellar effort, which was duly applauded by the Indian dressing room.“He’s got this raw batting talent. In Australia, he helped India avoid the follow-on in Brisbane. He batted beautifully. He has a solid defence and can hit the ball cleanly — we’ve seen that in the IPL,” Ashwin said.“He’s an off-side player. He doesn’t have many shots on the leg side, but he has good technique to negotiate the short ball. It took England some time to realise that Akash doesn’t like deliveries angled into him.“India could have a better day after the kind of start Jaiswal gave. You need to praise Akash Deep as well. Jadeja and Washington did scored a century but Akash Deep’s fifty kind of killed England’s confidence that they could roll India out.”
