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Akash Deep's dream delivery to get rid of Joe Root at Edgbaston courts controversy; here's why
India pacer Akash Deep celebrates after dismissing English batting star Joe Root on Day 4 of the second Test at Edgbaston. Reuters
India find themselves needing another four wickets to seal a memorable triumph in the second Test against England at Edgbaston on Sunday. And while captain Shubman Gill has been the standout performer in Birmingham, the pacers deserve their fair share of credit, including Akash Deep.
Akash, who replaced Jasprit Bumrah in the Indian XI after the latter was rested due to his workload management, did an excellent job in supporting Mohammed Siraj in the first innings, helping India collect a 180-run first innings lead. And the Bengal pacer played a key role in helping Gill and Co after setting them a mammoth 608-run target.
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Why some are critical of Akash's dismissal of Root
Standing out among his four wickets in the English chase is his dismissal of Joe Root, with the pacer castling the batting great with a beautiful delivery that got enough late movement after pitching along full length to beat his outside edge but crash into the stumps at the same time.
Unfortunately for the bowler, the dismissal has also become the subject of controversy, with some suggesting the delivery should have actually been deemed illegal.
Akash, after all, had used the width of the crease to create the kind of angle that would boost his chances of catching the star batter off guard with late movement. And while Akash's foot had landed within the popping crease, which is the horizontal line behind which the front foot must land, a part of his back foot appeared to have landed outside the landing crease during his delivery stride.
𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐞𝐩 🥶#AkashDeep uproots #JoeRoot with a searing in-swinger, his second wicket puts England firmly on the back foot 🤩#ENGvIND 👉 2nd TEST, Day 4 | LIVE NOW on JioHotstar ➡ https://t.co/2wT1UwEcdi pic.twitter.com/avu1sqRrcG — Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) July 5, 2025
BBC commentator Allison Mitchell was among those who kept an eye on Akash's back foot and remarked about the possibility of a no-ball.
'The delivery from Akash Deep - which we said was wide off the crease - his foot on the back crease is out. Looks like by about two inches. Maybe a little bit more. But comfortably. So his back foot, which needs to land within the line, just taps about two inches over the line. Not picked up!' Mitchell said on air.
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Former India all-rounder and head coach Ravi Shastri, however, added that his back foot was within the return crease upon first contact with the ground, and thus was legal.
Here's what the Marylebone Cricket Club's law 21.5.1 states on the matter:
'For a delivery to be fair in respect of the feet, in the delivery stride (21.5.1) the bowler's back foot must land within and not touch the return crease appertaining to his/her stated mode of delivery. (21.5.2) the bowler's front foot must land with some part of the foot, whether grounded or raised - on the same side of the imaginary line joining the two middle stumps as the return crease described in 21.5.1, and - behind the popping crease.'
Akash would castle opener Ben Duckett – who had starred in England's five-wicket victory in the series opener at Leeds' – as well as Root in quick succession on Saturday evening after Siraj drew first blood by dismissing Zak Crawley.
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The pacer from Bihar would then get rid of Ollie Pope and Harry Brook early on the final day to reduce England to 83/5, at which point even the possibility of a draw appeared a Herculean task for the hosts.
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