KL Rahul's intervention stops Akash Deep from charging at Ben Duckett, India pacer changes stance after wicket

If Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley's onslaught against the new ball was not enough, India pacer Akash Deep drew more flak for the way he behaved after dismissing Duckett. Before the start of the fifth Test at The Oval, Akash Deep had dismissed Duckett thrice in as many matches. The needle between the two was quite evident on Day 2. If it wasn't for KL Rahul's responsible behaviour, things could have spiralled out of control between Duckett and Akash Deep. KL Rahul stopping Akash Deep

Akash Deep started off pretty well with the new ball. He beat Duckett on a couple of occasions and nearly got him out caught at gully. After being put under pressure by Akash, Duckett flicked a switch in the fourth over. He reverse-flicked the Indian pacer over the slip cordon for a six. That incident changed things dramatically.

Duckett decided to take the aggressive route, particularly against Akash. He charged down the track to hit Akash Deep for three fours in the next over and continued to press on the accelerator.

India, however, persisted with Akash Deep and the plan worked in the 13th over. Duckett played one extravagant shot too many and was out caught while trying to attempt a reverse sweep. Akash Deep celebrated the wicket with a roar and a fist bump but it was what he did afterwards that drew the eyeballs.

Instead of continuing the celebration with his teammates, Akash Deep turned to Duckett, put his arms around the England opener's shoulder and said something with a smile. It was a rather unusual gesture for a batter who had just been dismissed. A school of thought would say that Akash Deep was appreciating Duckett's audacious display but maybe his timing could have been better, especially after England had raced to 92 in 12.5 overs.

Dinesh Karthik and Mike Atherton definitely felt Akash Deep should have avoided doing that. They credited Duckett for not reacting differently to Akash Deep's indifferent send-off.

What apparently missed the eye here was the role of senior India batter KL Rahul. Seeing Akash Deep putting his arms around Duckett, Rahul intervened and tapped the Indian pacer on the shoulder in a non-verbal message to let it go. After Rahul's tap on the shoulder, Akash Deep ended his tete-a-tete with Duckett and joined his teammates.

Earlier in the day, India, after resuming at 204/6, were bowled out for 224. They lost their last four wickets for 20 runs as overnight batters Karun Nair and Washington Sundar could not carry on the good work. Gus Atkinson picked up three of the four wickets to celebrate his comeback to Test cricket with a five-for.

Click here to read article