Deep gives India 10 reasons to smile

The speedster leads attack in Bumrah's absence, taking 10/187 to bowl India to a first win at Edgbaston and level the series 1-1

- Ashish Magotra

No Jasprit Bumrah, no Mohammed Shami and a pitch on which the Indian batters made over 1,000 runs. None of that mattered as Akash Deep and the other bowlers produced a performance that should rightfully be counted as one of India's best to help the team record its first ever win at Edgbaston on Sunday.

The record at the venue now reads nine matches, seven lost, one drawn and one fabulous win. As Shubman Gill said before the game, they don't care about what has happened before. They've made some history of their own. A first win for India and a first win for Gill as Test captain.

Gill's team has also become the first Asian country to win a Test at Edgbaston. Asian teams (India 9, Pakistan 8 and Sri Lanka 2) have played a total of 19 Tests at this venue and that is something.

India needed a bit of magic in this second Test and it was provided by Deep (4/88 and 6/99) and Mohammed Siraj (6/70 and 1/57) in equal measure. The 336-run win, the largest (in terms of runs) for India in away Tests, will be remembered for Gill's marvellous batting, but it was the bowlers who made the result possible.

The sight of Deep—running in hard, landing the ball on a coin, hitting the cracks, getting movement (where England and almost every other bowler found none) — will stay with all those watching forever. He took 10 wickets in the match, becoming only the second Indian bowler to achieve that in England—Chetan Sharma, also at Edgbaston in 1986, was the first, taking 10/188 in England.

But this was a spell that was powered not just by rhythm and smarts but heart as well.

"My sister has been diagnosed with cancer and the last two months have been very difficult," Deep revealed soon after he took the final wicket. "I will dedicate this match to her. I want to see her smile and hope this helps. Every time I ran in to bowl, I saw her face in my mind."