Ahead of the fourth Test at Melbourne on December 26, Akash Deep revealed that he had no primary plans of avoiding a follow-on but add some runs at the tail. In the third Test at Gabba, Akash Deep added 47 crucial runs in the last wicket alongside Jasprit Bumrah, with himself scoring 31 runs off 44 balls. It was Akash Deep who smashed a boundary off Pat Cummins over gully that saved India from a follow-on. Indian batting was dismantled, barring KL Rahul scoring 84 at the top and Ravindra Jadeja managing the middle order, scoring 77 runs. Akash Deep was the last man in, negotiating every delivery with the middle of his bat. For once he fumbled as he got an inside edge, but later smashed a six, which broke the dressing room out of joy. In the pre-match post-match conference, Akash Deep said that adding runs and surving on the pitch was more important to him. He said, “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. 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." Read also: AB de Villiers Backs Sanju Samson to Play All Three Formats Akash Deep hails "Jassi Bhai" for assurance The 28-year-old, who is touring Australia for the first time, got invaluable advice from the Indian vice captain Jasprit Bumrah. Speaking about Bumrah's role, Akash said, “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." Akash Deep missed the first two Tests, respectively, at Perth and Adelaide. He came in after Harshit Rana got replaced as he was smacked inhumanly in Adelaide. Akash, despite getting multiple outside edges, managed to get one wicket on Day 3. However, in the second inning, unlike the first, he tried to get the batters to play the balls and got better of Nathan McSweeney and Mitchell Marsh.