Before action started on Day 4 of the ongoing India vs Australia Test at the Gabba in Brisbane the tourists had a mountain to climb. The onus was on skipper Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to do the bulk of climbing but the former departed shortly, leaving India reeling at 74/5, still 172 behind to avoid follow-on, a mark which would have helped India's case in saving the match.
However, KL Rahul continued the show and went to add a valuable 67 with Ravindra Jadeja for the sixth wicket before getting out on 84 against Nathan Lyon. India were still 105 behind the follow-on mark and in came Nitish Reddy, who has enjoyed decent form in Down Under.
While Reddy didn't add much and was dismissed for 16. He, however, dug deep and added 53 runs for the seventh wicket, giving India some hope of avoiding the follow-on.
IND vs AUS: KL Rahul – a silver lining in India’s batting cloud
Soon after Reddy's dismissal, Mohammed Siraj, who was promoted to number 8, failed to last long, leaving the job to Jadeja and tailenders Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep. Jadeja took the onus on himself and helped India's case upto a certain extent, but while trying to pull a short delivery by Pat Cummins he was caught by Mitchell Marsh in the square leg region.
Jadeja was dismissed for 77, which left Bumrah and Akash Deep in the middle and 33 more runs required to avoid the follow-on. The hopes had certainly dashed by then but the final Indian pair had other plans.
Despite the circumstances being difficult, Bumrah and Akash Deep cautiously negated the threat of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Lyon, taking India to 246, a moment which saw head coach Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, and skipper Rohit celebrate ecstatically inside the dressing room.
Akash Deep was the one who took India beyond the follow-on mark as he hit Cummins for a boundary, bringing out loud cheers inside the dressing room and among the Indian fans assembled at the stadium. The moment didn't take long to viral on social media. Here is the video:
Bumrah (10*), Akash Deep (27*) will resume proceedings from 252/9 on Day 5. India are trailing by 193 runs but the effort by the duo have certainly raised India's hopes of saving the match.
