When India lost Ravindra Jadeja in the 66th over, they were still 33 runs away from avoiding the follow-on. It seemed like all hope was lost. But they found heroes in Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep with the bat.
KL Rahul and Jadeja put in big efforts as they got 84 and 77 respectively. However, that wasn’t enough as the other India batters endured disappointing returns. When the 9th wicket fell, India’s next best after the aforementioned batters was 16 by Nitish Kumar Reddy. He was also the only other apart from the two half-centurions to play more than 30 balls.
At 213/9 and almost an hour left on the fourth day, a follow-on seemed inevitable. But Bumrah and Akash Deep batted magnificently. Australia were without Josh Hazlewood who went off due to a calf injury but the pace-bowling duo excellently blunted out the trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.
They defended and left the ball well. When the opportunity presented, they didn’t miss out on scoring runs as well. They ran well between the wickets while getting an odd boundary in between.
During the partnership, Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir were highly animated in the dressing room. Kohli, in particular, was constantly cheering almost every run from Bumrah and Akash Deep.
Akash Deep got a thick edge over gully which went for four and that boundary helped India avoid the follow-on. The moment the ball went to the boundary, celebrations erupted in the dressing room. Kohli was high-fiving head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma. Even Gambhir was seen letting out a big ‘come-on’ as India avoided the follow-on.
Akash Deep who was pumped up after that big moment smashed a massive six a couple of balls later. That sent the dressing in splits. Kohli, Gambhir and Rohit were all seen having a chuckle as Deep launched Cummins way back into the crowd. Kohli even came out to the window to see where the ball landed and was completely amused by that shot.
Akash Deep-Bumrah’s stand boosts India’s chances of eking out a draw
Bad light forced early stumps on day four. Bumrah remained unbeaten on 10 while Akash Deep made 27 not out. The partnership is currently unbroken on 39 off 54 balls. India still trail by 193 runs. However, Australia will need to bat again which will take out time from the final day.
With just one day left in the third Test at the Gabba and a bit of weather around, India have significantly improved their chances of eking out a draw and keeping the series scoreline at 1-1.
