Akash Deep’s monstrous six leaves Virat Kohli awestruck at Gabba after India avoid follow-on against Australia: Watch

Virat Kohli was left awestruck and immensely elated after Akash Deep smacked Pat Cummins for a monstrous six in the final over of Day 4’s play in the ongoing third Test match at the Gabba in Brisbane on Tuesday. Having started on 51/4, India battled several rain interruptions as KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja fought hard in the middle to save the follow-on against the hosts.

With both Rahul and Jadeja departing at 84 and 77, respectively, the last pair of Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah were trusted with the most difficult job. Coming in after the fall of Jadeja’s wicket with India still needing 33 runs to avoid follow-on, Akash Deep paired with Bumrah and played the most significant innings in his short international career.

While Bumrah held on to one end, Akash Deep pushed for ones and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking and kept the pressure on the opposition. The Bihar-born lad, who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket, played the likes of Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon with maturity and composure as India neared the 246-run mark (follow-on limit).

With 242 runs on board, Akash Deep crunched Cummins over the gully for a boundary, forcing wild celebrations in the Indian dressing room. The next ball, the right-hander sent a Cummins delivery for a huge six over mid-wicket with a clean strike, leaving Kohli absolutely awestruck.

In fact, if rumours are to be believed, the bat with which Akash Deep was batting was gifted to him by none other than Kohli himself. At the end of Day 4, India were 252/9, with Akash Deep batting on 27 and Bumrah unbeaten on 10. India still trails Australia by 193 runs.