India's Akash Deep plays a shot during play on day five of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane. AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher India's Akash Deep plays a shot during play on day five of the third cricket test between India and Australia at the Gabba in Brisbane. AP Photo/Pat Hoelscher

Akash Deep and Jasprit Bumrah saved India the blushes during the Brisbane Test with a resolute 10th wicket partnership but the rookie pacer on Sunday said his focus was on wholesome contribution to the team rather than looking to "merely save the follow-on." (More Cricket News)solare

With the Indian batters, barring KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja, failing once again, the obstinate 47-run partnership between Bumrah and Akash took India past the follow-on mark during the Gabba Test, which ended in a draw.

"We come to bat lower down the order, so contributions of 20-25-30 runs are very valuable. My mindset is just to contribute. I wasn't looking to save the follow-on that day; I was just looking not to get out. My mindset was this, God willing, we were able to save the follow-on," Akash told reporters in Melbourne.

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Akash smashed Pat Cummins for a four to avoid the follow-on as the Indian dressing room broke into celebrations on day four.

“When you save the match from such a situation, the entire team gets the confidence and our dressing room reflected just that. Everyone was having fun and enjoying."

Salvaging a draw after being on the brink of losing in Brisbane, the Indian team is now filled with confidence, feels Akash.

"If you look at it, it's 50-50, even though we were behind in the last match. But the confidence we built on the last day, we still have that confidence. So, I can say it's 50-50, and this Test match (Melbourne) is very important for both the teams."

Akash did not feature in the playing XI for the first two Tests against Australia but made his way into the team for the third Test.

The 28-year-old gave a good account himself, and was unlucky to miss out on the wicket of veteran batter Steve Smith, whom he troubled no end.

The pacer, who is playing on foreign soil for the first time, revealed tips from Bumrah helped him.

"This is my first time playing in Australia. Jassi bhai keeps on telling us things about how we can go about our job; it makes our job easy.”

“He told me one thing, ‘Don’t get too excited. Just focus on your discipline. How you go about your job in Indian conditions, repeat that here.' He told me just this.”

Short-pitched balls against Head: Akash

Travis Head continues to be a thorn in India's flesh. After being dismissed for 11 in his first innings of the series, he has gone on to score 89, 140 and 152 in his next three outings.

Obviously, he did not detail the plans but hinted at a bouncer strategy against the left-hander.

"Jo plan hai wo nahi bata sakte, wo bhi taiyyar ho jayenge (We can’t reveal our plans, as they’ll prepare accordingly)."

"As fast bowlers, we will stick to the same deliveries and maintain discipline in our bowling. We will bowl from both over and around the wicket, assess the pitch and conditions, and plan accordingly."

"I think Travis Head, in particular, struggles against short balls. We won’t let him settle at the crease. We’ll target specific areas and hope to force him into mistakes, which will create chances for us," he stated.

Akash maintained that India will continue to find ways to strike with the new ball.

One did not realise the enormity of this feat. Harmanpreet is basically a defensive midfielder in footballing parlance and to score 200 goals, is truly a great achievement.

Pakistan, on the other hand, are behind India in second place, with eight points to their name, and also beat hosts China 5-1 in their most recent fixture. 

"The plan is the same because we have played three matches here and we have seen that chances are being created with the new ball. If we take wickets early with the new ball, then it's a problem for them toosolare," he added.