When India lost their captain, Shubman Gill, around 10:40 PM IST last night, 20 minutes were still left in the day’s play. India had lost their third wicket, and England were cock-a-hoop.
After all, this Indian top-order has given England headaches in the five innings they had batted thus far, and hence, to have them 42/3 in chase of 193 was just the shot in the arm England and Ben Stokes required.
As KL Rahul waited with bated breath, in walked Akash Deep, still adjusting his gloves and arm-guard, not properly applied. You didn’t need a scientist to tell you that the decision to send him as a nightwatchman was a last-minute call. Perhaps India wanted to protect Rishabh Pant, a key man, with Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Reddy and Washington Sundar as the other players who could bat. But while head coach Gautam Gambhir and team management’s decision to send Akash Deep did succeed to a certain extent – he protected another wicket of Rahul from falling – India did lose a fourth wicket two balls before stumps.
“Was it the right call?” That’s a question that can only be answered by the decision-makers but former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s revelation about how Pant does not like to bat during the closing stages of the match could well have explained the call.
“I’ll tell you a story. Remember that Test match in Mirpur when India were chasing some 140 runs to win? So I was sitting and relaxing in the dressing room after bowling. It was all hot and humid. I was sitting next to the analyst and Rahul Dravid (head coach) was there a little further. After we lost the first two wickets, Rishabh said ‘main nahi ja raha batting karne’ (I am not going out to bat) to Rahul bhai. There was a good 30-40 minutes left. But he said I am not going. When the next wicket fell and the No. 4 batter was supposed to go in, he went inside and they had to send Axar Patel first, I guess, and then Jaydev Unadkat to go in as the nightwatchman,” Ashwin, India’s second-highest Test wicket-taker, said on his YouTube channel.
Not the first time Rishabh Pant has shown reluctance
Ashwin narrated another incident from not too long ago, when Pant showed reluctance to bat during the last few minutes of the day. Then again, the ex-spinner did not fault India in their decision to send Akash Deep. Given the form Pant is in, he remains a key player for India in this chase and their quest to go 2-1 up at Lord’s.
“Rishabh does not like batting in the last 30-40 minutes of the day. That’s why they sent Akash Deep. But see, it is about protecting your best batter, yes. But when you send a batter like Akash Deep and then he gets out, it puts you in even more of a situation. When we were playing against New Zealand, the same thing happened. When Virat Kohli got out, Rishabh was not in a mood to go out. Then we had to Siraj. And when he got out, again a proper batter had to go out,” added Ashwin.
“All in all, it is a catch-22, but today it was ok because it was only 20-25 minutes. Because you want 190, and protecting Rishabh is important. So it’s a good decision that he made. But all in all, I want to see how Rishabh goes about his business. The right strategy was to ensure Rahul bats long, but Rishabh could have gone in. 30-40 runs is crucial I’m such a low-chasing total.”