Birmingham [UK], July 7 : India's captain Shubman Gill lauded Akash Deep's performance after they thrashed England by 336 runs in the second Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, levelling the five-match series 1-1 and securing a historic first-ever Test win at the iconic venue.
At the post-match press conference, Gill pointed to Akash Deep's fiery spell on Day 4, as he dismissed England batters Ben Duckett and Joe Root.
"Yesterday, I think, getting through the top order is never easy," Gill said.
"The spell of Akash Deep, how he got those two wickets, kind of gave the confidence to everyone that we can win this Test match and when he came in this morning with the ball hitting the cracks, yes, the ball was seaming, the odd ball seaming, that's what really instilled the confidence in all of the players that, yes, we can do it," he added.
Akash Deep returned with phenomenal match figures of 10/187 (4/88 and 6/99), breaking Chetan Sharma's long-standing record (10/188) of the best bowling figures by an Indian in a Test match in England.
Another tactical masterstroke that paid dividends for India was the selection of Washington Sundar over Kuldeep Yadav, a move that raised eyebrows before the match. Gill addressed the decision, highlighting the need for batting depth and control in spinning conditions.
"It is very tempting when you have a bowler like Kuldeep. One of the reasons why I wanted to play Washington was because he gives us batting depth," said Gill.
"In the first innings, I think the partnership between me and Washington, if it wasn't for that partnership, then our lead would have been 70-80-90 runs, which is psychologically very different from 180," he noted.
Washington Sundar contributed a vital 42 runs in the first innings and later dismissed Ben Stokes in the second innings, underlining his all-round value. Gill elaborated on the team's strategy behind selecting a finger spinner.
"Even on the 5th day, the ball was not moving that much from the middle, it was just moving through the roughness. We thought that maybe if our first batting comes, then maybe on a 5th day wicket, the finger spinner will give us more control if the ball is moving from the wicket and especially on such wickets, sometimes more than fast bowling, the spin gives you more control," Gill explained.
Looking ahead to the third Test at Lord's, the Indian captain remained open to reassessing the bowling combination.
"So that was our mindset, but now we will see what kind of wicket they are giving at Lord's," he added.