"He cheated Joe Root" - Saba Karim on Akash Deep's dismissal of England batter in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former India player Saba Karim has noted that Akash Deep dismissed Joe Root in England's second innings of the second Test by virtually cheating him. He highlighted that the England batter was forced to think that the ball would come in, but it straightened after pitching.

Deep bowled Root for a 16-ball six as England were reduced to 72/3 on Day 4 (Saturday, July 5) in pursuit of a mammoth 608-run target. India had declared their second innings at 427/6 earlier in the day.

During a discussion on Sony Sports, Saba was asked about his thoughts on Root's dismissal.

"Akash Deep was talking about feeling cheated by the wicket as it was like an Indian wicket, but here he cheated Joe Root. When you are angling the ball in from wide of the crease, the batter is forced to think that the ball will come in only from that angle," he responded.

The former India wicketkeeper termed it an unplayable delivery, highlighting that virtually every batter would have fallen prey to it.

"If the ball straightens after pitching, what can the batter do? If you bowl such a ball to a great batter, it was definitely an unplayable delivery. Not only Joe Root, but 99.9 percent of the batters would have played like that towards the onside. Joe Root also tried that, and Akash Deep literally opened up Joe Root," Saba observed.

Akash Deep angled the ball in from wide of the crease. The ball pitched and straightened, beating Joe Root all ends up before rattling the stumps.

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"As a batter, you feel the ball will come in only from that angle" - Hemang Badani on Akash Deep's dismissal of Joe Root in ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Joe Root was the final England wicket to fall on Day 4 of the Birmingham Test. [P/C: Getty]

In the same discussion, former India batter Hemang Badani noted that Joe Root was completely deceived, highlighting that every batter would have expected the ball to come in from that angle.

"It was an excellent ball. He got completely beaten. He created an angle. He went wide off the crease, even touched the side line, created such a big angle, and then made the ball go straight from there. As a batter, you feel the ball will come in only from that angle," he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator opined that Root wasn't at fault and termed Akash Deep's delivery the best ball of the game.

"Once the ball straightened after pitching, Joe Root had no chance. When the angle of the seam position is towards fine leg, cricket's rule is that the ball cannot straighten from there. I don't believe Joe Root made a mistake. The ball pitched and went away. It's an unplayable ball. In my opinion, this was the best ball of this Test match," Badani observed.

Akash Deep finished with figures of 2/36 in eight overs on Day 4, with Ben Duckett (25 off 15) being his other victim. Mohammed Siraj (1/29 off five overs), who got rid of Zak Crawley (0 off 7), was India's other wicket-taker in England's second innings.