Watch: Akash Deep capped off a remarkable opening spell on Test debut by bowling Zak Crawley with a ripper, not long after he had been denied the England opener’s wicket in similar fashion by a no-ball.

Deep got his chance in the XI after Jasprit Bumrah was rested, and took the new-ball in the senior seamer’s absence.

He thought he had struck in his second over, but his joy turned to despair, with Crawley’s off-stump sent cartwheeling but replays revealing he had overstepped. Undeterred, he continued to threaten, finding appreciative seam movement at good pace, and eventually had his reward in his fifth over, shortly after new-ball partner Mohammed Siraj had been whipped from the attack following an assault by Crawley.

First Ben Duckett was nicked off before Ollie Pope was pinned lbw two balls later, India captain Rohit Sharma justified in going for the review.

India thought he had Joe Root first ball as well, but this time the review didn’t pay off, the ball having hit the England No.4 outside the line. Kept on for a sixth over, Deep atoned for his earlier transgression to Crawley, bowling an eerily similar delivery, the ball coming back in from outside off to seek out the top of the stumps. There were two differences, one aesthetic and one crucial. This time, it was just the bails sent flying rather than the stump ripped out of the ground, and this time he had kept his front foot behind the crease.

He ended his maiden Test spell with figures of 3-24 from seven overs with England reeling at 64-3.

Watch Akash Deep’s three-wicket burst below:

WWW 🤝 Akash Deep!

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— BCCI (@BCCI) February 23, 2024

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