Top 3 scores by India Nightwatcher in Test since 2000

Akash Deep did his job extremely well. He joined Yashasvi Jaiswal on Day 2 as a night watchman, and when he lost his wicket, Akash Deep registered his name in the record book. The cricketer hails from Bihar and is mainly known for his pace bowling abilities. Often he left out the bracket allocated for the all-rounders. But from today (August 2, 2025), opposition teams may dare to mark him only as a bowler. At The Oval, against England in the ongoing 5th match of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy, he scored 66 off 94. But before Akash, there were multiple events when a night watchman did surprisingly well with the bat. 

Highest scores by a nightwatchman for India:

Amit Mishra 84 vs. ENG, 2011:

Amit Mishra, a spin bowling all-rounder, came close to getting a Test hundred as a night watchman. His partnership with Sachin Tendulkar emerged as the last hope for MS Dhoni's led team India against England at The Oval in August 2011. England at their home ground was top of their game with Ian Bell scoring 235 and Kevin Pietersen's 175. England registered 591/6d in the first innings and left India to struggle. In this match, Amit Mishra contributed a good amount of runs in both of the innings. During the first phase of the game, the all-rounder scored 43, and in the second innings, he bagged an 84-run knock before Graeme Swann bowled him out. After getting Mishra's wicket in the second innings, England cleared their path to winning the mace. Till today, Mishra's 84 is the highest run ever scored by a night watchman for India. 

𝗔𝗸𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽: 𝟲𝟲 𝘃𝘀 𝗘𝗡𝗚, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱:

A newly shaped team India travelled to England for the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy. After England took a 2-1 lead, followed by a draw at Old Trafford, the fifth and the last match of the series became a final-like encounter for Shubman Gill and Co. In the first innings of the game, India faced a batting collapse, which they had experienced multiple times before in the tournament. Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep restricted England to only a 23-run lead.

Read More: [WATCH] Rohit Sharma makes special appearance at Kennington Oval during ENG vs IND 5th Test

India got a sudden opportunity to shine on a green deck. Made the disappointed KL Rahul and Sai Sudharsan's wickets fall in a short time duration. The day's play was about to end, so the Indian team management decided to send a night watchman in the form of Akash Deep to protect their top-tier batters on the rank. Out of anyone's expectations, Deep scored his maiden Test half-century and managed to drag it to 66. After Amit Mishra's 84, it was the second-highest score by an Indian night watchman. 

Amit Mishra 50 vs BAN, 2010:

This time, Amit Mishra's heroism came for a winning cause. In a Test match against Bangladesh in January 2010, Mishra scored a half century in the second innings at Chattogram. India won the match by 113 runs; Sachin Tendulkar was the man of the match for scoring an unbeaten 105 runs. Amit Mishra also could have won the award because of his all-round performance. Apart from scoring 50 off 70, he claimed 4 wickets also. Bangladesh, the home team, had to score 415 runs to win the match or protect wickets to at least get a draw. They did not manage to accomplish any of the tasks and allowed India to win the match.