On the last ball of the third day’s play of the fifth India-England Test at The Oval, Mohammed Siraj bowled a superb yorker to breach England opener Zak Crawley’s defence and shatter his stumps. For many
greats and experts of the game, which includes legendary Australian batter and former India head coach Greg Chappell, that ball was the highlight of the India-England series, but for batting great Sachin Tendulkar, the ball of the series was bowled by Akash Deep in the second innings of the second Test, which resulted in Joe Root’s wicket at Edgbaston.
In a video going viral on the internet, Tendulkar said, “Mere liye mai kahunga ki that was the ball of the series jo unhone (Akash Deep) Joe Root ko daala, and that was also the turning point of the second Test match. Mujhe laga waha se shuruat hui; vo ek jo Joe Root ko rattle kar ke out kar diya usne, that was an unbelievable ball. Late movement hui off the pitch aur jo batter itne ache form mein hai, usne itne sarey runs banaye hai. Usey iss tareh se out karna is not easy. Toh mere liye that was possibly the ball of the series kyuki vo critical stage par usne daala vo ball (I would pick the delivery from Akash Deep to Joe Root as the ball of the series. That also became the turning point of the second Test. Things started to turn from there because he rattled Joe Root and dismissed him. There was late movement off the pitch, and to dismiss someone who’s in form and has so many runs behind him is not easy. For me that was the ball of the series because it occurred at a critical stage of the game).”
???????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ???????????????? 🥶#AkashDeep uproots #JoeRoot with a searing in-swinger, his second wicket puts England firmly on the back foot 🤩#ENGvIND 👉 2nd TEST, Day 4 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar ➡ https://t.co/2wT1UwEcdi pic.twitter.com/avu1sqRrcG
— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 5, 2025
Crawley didn’t want another over; Siraj made sure of it 🤷♂️ #SonySportsNetwork #ENGvIND #NayaIndia #DhaakadIndia #TeamIndia #ExtraaaInnings | @mdsirajofficial pic.twitter.com/uWi1v0CNYA
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) August 2, 2025
Akash Deep had replaced Jasprit Bumrah in India’s playing XI for the second Test against England at Edgbaston, and in that match, he picked up a total of 10 wickets, which includes figures of 6 for 99 runs in 21.1 overs in the second innings.
The Bihar-based cricketer, who represents Bengal in domestic cricket, however, failed to build on that next in the two matches and was only able to take three wickets in the Lord’s and The Oval Tests.
