On the final delivery of Day 3 in the fifth India-England Test at The Oval, Mohammed Siraj produced a gem — a searing yorker that crashed through Zak Crawley’s defence and sent his stumps flying. While many cricket greats, including legendary Australian batter and former India head coach Greg Chappell, hailed it as the standout ball of the series, Sachin Tendulkar had a different pick.

For the batting maestro, the ball of the series came from an unlikely hero — Akash Deep — during the second innings of the second Test at Edgbaston, when he dismissed Joe Root with a peach of a delivery.

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In a video doing the rounds on social media, Sachin Tendulkar explained, “For me, that was the ball of the series. It was also the turning point of the second Test. From that moment, the match started to shift in India’s favour. Akash Deep rattled Joe Root, who was in sublime form and had scored heavily. The ball moved late off the pitch — dismissing a batter like Root in such form is never easy. That delivery came at a critical stage, making it even more special.”

Akash Deep’s rise in that Edgbaston Test was remarkable. Drafted into the XI as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, the Bihar-born pacer, who plies his trade for Bengal in domestic cricket, delivered a career-defining performance.

He bagged a stunning 10 wickets in the match, including a match-turning 6 for 99 in 21.1 overs in the second innings. His relentless pace, control, and ability to exploit late movement troubled England’s batters throughout. However, consistency proved elusive. In the subsequent matches at Lord’s and The Oval, Akash Deep could only add three more wickets to his tally.

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The spark he lit at Edgbaston dimmed, but the memory of that magical ball to Root — one that swung momentum and earned praise from the game’s greatest-ever batter — will remain etched in the minds of fans and analysts alike. For Tendulkar, it wasn’t just about skill. It was about timing, match situation, and the courage to deliver under pressure — the essence of what makes a delivery truly the “ball of the series.”