Melbourne, Dec 22
Ahead of the Boxing Day Test against Australia, India seamer Akash Deep revealed his mindset while batting during day four of third Test at Brisbane was to not get out and was glad his efforts helped the visitors' avert the follow-on.
At Brisbane, Akash came out to bat when India were at 213/9, and scored a crucial 31 off 44 balls to bail the visitors' out of crashing towards a follow-on, while sharing a 47-run stand with Jasprit Bumrah for the final wicket.
"We come to bat lower down the order, so contributions of 20-25-30 runs are very valuable. My mindset is just to contribute. I wasn't looking to save the follow-on that day; I was just looking not to get out. My mindset was this, God willing, we were able to save the follow-on.
"When you save the match from such a situation, the entire team gets the confidence and our dressing room reflected just that. Everyone was having fun and enjoying," said Akash to reporters at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Sunday.
Asked about his experience of bowling in a Test match in Australia for the first time, Akash stated, "It is a bit difficult. I have played most of my cricket in India. We can bowl shorter lengths there, but here it is a bit of a challenge.
"Sometimes you think you are bowling really well. Jo bhi wicket ya condition ho, as a fast bowler discipline mein rehna kaafi important hota hai (Whatever the conditions or wickets are, as a fast bowler, you need to maintain your bowling discipline)," he said.
He also threw light on how Bumrah has been a guiding figure for the fast-bowling group on tour of Australia, saying , "This is my first time of playing in Australia. Jassi bhai keeps on telling us things about how we can go about our job; it makes our job easy. He told me one thing, 'Don't get too excited. Just focus on your discipline. How you go about your job in Indian conditions, repeat that here.' He told me just this."
With the series currently locked at 1-1, Akash signed off by saying India have taken lots of confidence from the draw at Brisbane and that will help them in the match at Melbourne starting on Thursday.
"The series is 50-50 going into the last two Test matches. In the last Test match, while we were behind for the most part, the confidence we got in the last day, I think that matters and going into the Boxing Day, I think it is 50-50," he added.