How Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep wrote a happy jailbreak

There was a bit of amateurish joy at the way Kumble and Srinath put this stand together and at the reaction of the team and the audience. Kumble was a tenacious fighter with the bat but Srinath could go down in flames if his heart wasn’t in it. A similar mood prevailed at the Gabbatoir: a stubborn Bumrah with potentially inflammatory but skilful and courageous Akash Deep in the mood.

That it took two of India’s best bowlers to get the jailbreak with the bat should be worrying, but in the here and now there is understandably a joyful mood and hope that their rousing battle will inspire some in the top order.

Near the end, Pat Cummins stood there panting. His shirt was soaked with sweat and clung to his stomach as if he had been standing in the rain. His face was glistening with sweat, and he wiped some of it from his forehead with a wave of his finger. He charged again to ply the last two Indians standing with bouncers, a plan that has already been questioned by former Australian cricketers on the show. After disagreeing with the plan, Glen McGrath stood and looked through a pane of glass at the piece, shaking his head. Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori claimed the ball ended up being too soft and that this was a factor in this rebound plan. It doesn’t quite explain why they didn’t mix up the deliveries more, but as Vettori said: “It was thanks to those Cummins and Starc that Australia were in this good position in the first place.” True, that and some recklessness from the Indian top order .

Courage and ability

Above all, Akash’s skills and courage were a feast for the eyes. He kept jumping on the bouncy castle and brushing off the bouncers. The ball had actually gone soft, the Australians kept complaining to the referees as they looked for a turnover, but they never agreed to their request. Akash would not only knock and jab but also play some beautiful shots. The shots keep coming with great timing and are so impressive that a smiling Rohit Sharma can replicate such a shot. The only danger seemed to be running away, as Akash repeated over and over again, trying to make two out of three a few times only to find himself staring at Bumrah’s back. This threat had come true in 1996 too, when Srinath felt an almost irresistible urge to run for everything. Luckily Akash wasn’t that impulsive.

After eight runs were needed to avoid a follow-up, Cummins finally brought the ball fuller and Akash made an extravagant on-the-up hack that saw the ball fly past the stumps from the inside edge. A message came from the Indians’ locker room. “It was just a matter of telling him to calm down so that he could do it in singles,” KL Rahul later explained. Akash did calm down, but it was a rather casual stroke over slips that got India over the safe line.

“We would have followed up if we got her out,” Vettori said. The Australians lost Josh Hazlewood to a calf injury earlier in the day – and he will also miss the rest of the series, but the frequent rain breaks allowed their two main bowlers Cummins and Starc to continue bowling for most of the day. “The (forced stoppage) was the only chance to get a result here given the weather,” Vettori said. If the rain didn’t come, would Australia make a bold and risky statement and give it a try sometime this morning? Extremely unlikely considering they hadn’t come forward earlier in the first innings and had continually indulged in a buffet of runs against the likes of underperforming bowler Ravindra Jadeja.

Jadeja’s redemption

Jadeja, however, provided relief with the bat in his calm, assured and deft manner; He has been fighting this way overseas for several years now and has had his sword fights celebrated around the world. It was no surprise how well he hit. He has implemented his technique perfectly and doesn’t have to deviate from it. Compact in defence, confident in his style of play, diligent in working out the angles, he flowed forward, especially when the Kookaburra ball lost its impact after 30 overs.

Nitish Reddy was positive again, even though he may not have scored as many goals, he batted a little differently than in a few innings where he had to start counter-attacking due to the game situation. Here he showed that he can be brave and devour eggs when the situation calls for it. And KL Rahul continued to be the beacon for the rest of the top flight with his patience and character. It is imperative that India emerge from this game with a draw in order to regroup and rally to take a real lead in Melbourne and Sydney. It would take two of their most experienced seniors in Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to step up, but that is later. Brisbane must come away with a draw that feels like a win for them and try to leave a few more bruises on the Australian camp on the final day.