‘I am with you’: Akash Deep dedicates 10-wicket haul to ailing sister

Akash Deep stood tall under the grey Birmingham skies, arms raised in triumph, but his heart was thousands of miles away -- with his sister battling cancer in India.

On Sunday at Edgbaston, the 28-year-old fast bowler turned emotion into inspiration, delivering a ten-wicket match haul that powered India to their first-ever Test victory at the iconic venue -- and he dedicated it all to his sister.

"This performance is for you," a visibly emotional Deep told Star Sports after the win. "Whenever I picked up the ball, only thoughts of my sister crossed my mind. I am with you. I want to see happiness on your face -- we are all together with you."

"My older sister has been suffering from cancer for the past two months. Now she is stable. She will be the happiest after all that she has gone through mentally, and I dedicate this match to her. I want to see a smile on her face," he added, fighting back tears.

It was not just emotion -- it was a performance of the highest calibre. Having sat out the first Test, Deep came in to replace the rested spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and repaid the faith shown in him by captain Shubman Gill and mentor Gautam Gambhir with figures of 4-88 in the first innings and 6-99 in the second.

He had already struck twice late on Day 4, but it was on the final day that Deep truly owned the stage. He removed Ollie Pope in just the fourth over of the morning and came back in the very next to send back the dangerous Harry Brook. England's hopes collapsed at 83 for 5.

In the second session, Deep dismissed Jamie Smith with a clever slower short ball, completing a memorable five-for. The final blow came when Brydon Carse holed out to Gill at cover -- Deep's sixth wicket and his tenth of the match.

"He bowled with so much heart and skilfully with his lengths," said Gill, who scored a sublime 269 in the first innings and followed up with 161 in the second. "He moved it in both directions, which was tough to do. He was magnificent for us."

England were bowled out for 271 in pursuit of 608 — the highest-ever target set by India in Test history -- and fell 336 runs short. The win marked India's first triumph at Edgbaston in nine attempts since their debut there in 1967.

Stuart Broad, England's legendary pacer, also praised Deep's control and craft: "He brings the stumps into play, nips the ball -- even with the second new ball -- bowled Harry Brook through the gate and knocked the off stump out of the ground. He's a real threat," he said on Sky Sports.

But beyond tactics and technique, this was a story of personal resolve.