India, Aug. 2 -- Who would have picked Akash Deep to play a pivotal role in tiring England's three-man pace pack on a moving Day 3 at the business end of this riveting series? The odds were stacked heavily against it. His Test batting average was 7.46. His tallest first class score, an unbeaten 53.

Deep's only job when he walked out to bat in the late stages of Day 2 under fading light was to ensure his team didn't lose any more specialist batters. If anything, try and frustrate the bowlers some more, the next day.

But who was to know the resolve of a man who hadn't even learned to bowl properly with the leather ball until he was 20. Deep left Bihar for Durgapur, then Kolkata with all the push factors that are all so common in India. On...