Rishabh Pant shakes off injury concerns, Akash Deep all but out of Manchester Test

21-07-2025

Soon after gently rolling his arm over in the field of play, Akash Deep cut a forlorn figure as uncapped Anshul Kamboj and Prasidh Krishna bowled full tilt at India's first outdoor training session ahead of the fourth Test.Akash Deep, who has been nursing a groin injury since the Lord's Test, did not get the green light from the team physio to have a go at the nets soon after undergoing a bowling fitness evaluation in the middle under the watchful eyes of coach Morne Morkel. Minutes later, he was a spectator to the net session standing alongside Arshdeep Singh who has been ruled out of the game due to a hand injury.If Akash Deep too is deemed unfit, the team management will need to choose between Prasidh Krishna or Anshul Kamboj for the third pacer's slot alongside Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.Kamboj, who joined the team over the weekend as a cover for the injured Arshdeep, was on Monday added to the main squad, raising the possibility of a surprise debut. The pacer from Haryana bowled for close to an hour in the nets with high intensity alongside Siraj, Bumrah, Prasidh and Shardul Thakur. advertisementKamboj was also seen padded up for a brief batting session alongside Thakur, who could be a direct replacement for injured all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.Siraj had the highest intensity bowling against the likes of Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant, while Bumrah moved to the field of play for more bowling after finding the practice surface slippery.Rishabh Pant bats and keeps pain freeAll eyes were also glued to Rishabh Pant, who had not kept wickets at the Lord's after getting on his fingers while keeping wickets on the opening day of the second Test. While batting on day five, Pant was grimacing every time he defended against a seriously quick Jofra Archer.Considering he performed keeping drills and batted pain free for an hour, Pant looks fit enough to start the fourth Test. Pant is always up for some banter even with his own teammates and that was evident when he shared the nets with skipper Shubman Gill.There was no apparent discomfort while batting against Mohammed Siraj, Kamboj and Krishna.There is also speculation over Karun Nair's slot in the playing eleven but he batted with plenty of purpose. So was the case with Sai Sudharsan, who could replace Nair in the playing eleven. The southpaw was also seen taking catching practice in the slip cordon.With Nitish Reddy on his way back to India, Yashasvi Jaiswal was back doing catching drills in the slip cordon.- EndsTune In

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Highest Scores By Nightwatchman For India In Tests

News18

an hour ago

News18

Highest Scores By Nightwatchman For India In Tests

Last Updated: Akash Deep entered his name in the history books by becoming the third Indian to score a half-century in Tests after coming out to bat as a nightwatchman. Akash Deep, who usually bats at No. 9 or 10 for India in Tests, on Friday (August 1) was sent to bat at No. 4 for India in the second innings of the ongoing fifth Test against England. The cricketer from Bihar, who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket, made the most of the opportunity and went on to score a half-century. He is the third Indian to score a half-century in a Test after coming out to bat as a nightwatchman. Here's a look at the highest scores by nightwatchman for India in Tests. 1/9 Amit Mishra scored 84 runs from 141 balls for India as the No. 5 batter in the second innings of The Oval Test played against England in August 2011. (Picture Credit: AFP) Amit Mishra scored 50 runs from 70 balls for India as the No. 3 batter in the second innings of the January 2010 Test played against Bangladesh at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. (Picture Credit: AFP) Murali Kartik came out to bat at No. 3 for India in the first inning of the November 2000 Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka, and he scored 43 runs from 119 balls. Next Photogallery

Night's watch Akash Deep shines in broad daylight

New Indian Express

5 hours ago

New Indian Express

Night's watch Akash Deep shines in broad daylight

LONDON: When B Sai Sudharsan got out on Day 2 of the fifth Test here at the Oval, pacer Akash Deep made his way to the ground in place of skipper Shubman Gill. At least 20 minutes of the extended play was remaining when the pacer joined opener Yashasvi Jaiswal in the middle. He did the same at the Lord's Test in the fag end of Day 4 but could not last long as Ben Stokes cleaned him up. With the on-field umpires calling off the day's play four balls later due to bad light, Akash Deep went back to pavilion unbeaten unlike the third Test and it also gave him an opportunity to contribute to the team's cause especially after a not-so-good show with the ball in England's first innings. Seemingly a designated nightwatchman for this new-look India, the Bengal pacer blunted England's pace attack hitting 12 fours on his way to a 94-ball 66. He also added 107 runs with Jaiswal for the third wicket, almost depriving the hosts of any success in the morning session. England's horror show in the field also helped Akash Deep to reach his maiden Test fifty as Zak Crawley dropped him at the slip cordon in the 26th over bowled by Josh Tongue. He also survived a close LBW call. Skipper Ollie Pope reviewed it but the appeal was overturned due to the umpire's call.

5th Test, Day 3: Mohammed Siraj Strikes At Stroke Of Stumps, England 1 Down In Chase Of 374 vs India

NDTV

6 hours ago

NDTV

5th Test, Day 3: Mohammed Siraj Strikes At Stroke Of Stumps, England 1 Down In Chase Of 374 vs India

Yashasvi Jaiswal enhanced his reputation as an all-conditions opener with a gutsy hundred on a tough pitch before Washington Sundar's whirlwind fifty allowed India to set a record 374-run target for England on an absorbing day three of the final Test at The Oval, London on Saturday. Jaiswal (118 off 164) rode his luck to complete his sixth Test hundred while the other significant contributions came from nightwatchman Akash Deep (66 off 94), Washington (53 off 46) and Ravindra Jadeja (53 off 77), who has been phenomenally consistent with the bat this series. The highest successful chase is 263 at The Oval but with the way England approach their game, one would not bet against the hosts just yet, having made short work of a 378 run target against India at Edgbaston three years ago and more recently the 371 they gunned down in the series opener at Leeds. At stumps, England were 50 for one loss in 13.5 overs with Mohammed Siraj castling Zak Crawley with a yorker at the stroke of stumps. The pitch did not look as green as it did on the first two days but still had enough for the fast bowlers. Akash Deep got a couple of balls to jump off length in the last hour of play. India were all out for 396 in the second innings courtesy the fireworks from Washginton Sundar displayed exemplary six hitting skills against Gus Atkinson and Josh tongue. Having a scored his maiden Test hundred last week, Washington looked supremely confident as he put the opposition pacers to sword to swell India's lead. He reached his half-century by disdainfully Atkinson into the cow corner region. In the afternoon session, a gritty century from Jaiswal helped India extend their lead to 281 runs at tea. India lost three wickets in the session but more importantly reached 304 for six at the break. England continued to drop catches, taking their innings tally to six. Jaiswal (118 off 164), who was dropped twice on Friday, was given another life on day three. Fair to say, he made the most of the lifelines offered to him for his second hundred of the series. Shubman Gill (11 off 9) produced two sublime fours before falling to the incoming ball once again with Gus Atkinson removing the Indian captain first ball after lunch. With that, Gill ended the series with a staggering 754 runs, just 20 shy of Sunil Gavaskar's all time record by an Indian. Jaiswal, who got rich rewards for playing the cut shot, was eventually caught in third man region. Karun Nair was caught behind off Atkinson with the extra bounce surprising him. Earlier, nightwatchman Akash Deep smashed his way to a maiden half-century, frustrating a lacklustre England and putting India in a strong position at lunch. Resuming the day at 75 for two, India did exceedingly well to reach 189 for three at the break with Jaiswal and Akash Deep sharing a 107-run stand off 150 balls. The India pacer, who was on four overnight, was eventually dismissed by Jamie Overton towards the end of the session via a short ball he could not control, giving an easy catch to Gus Atkinson at point. A bowler short, England could not control the run flow against Akash Deep who slashed his bat plenty of times in the session and got away with it. A fourth catch of the innings was dropped when Zak Crawley dropped a regulation catch of Akash Deep at third slip off Josh Tongue. The surface also played a lot better than the first two days with the ball not seaming around that much. There plenty of edges down the third man region but did not result in wickets. 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 leg and dispatched Bethell over mid-wicket for a boundary. Akash Deep did not hold against the fast bowlers as well, especially Atkinson. He got to his fifty with another slog off Atkinson. He was understandably fired up with his stellar effort that was duly applauded by the Indian dressing room. Jaiswal, at the other end, was happy to let Akash Deep go for his shots. However, he did play a ramp off Overton that went for a boundary.