Morne Morkel Says India’s Plans Against Travis Head Failed, Adds ‘Need To Get Better With Old Ball’ – News18
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Morne Morkel accepted Indian bowlers failed to execute plans against Australia’s Travis Head and bowl better with the old ball.
Indian players celebrate Jasprit Bumrah’s wicket (AP)
India bowling coach Morne Morkel admitted that work has to be put in to improve on bowlers leaking runs when the ball is old from 50-80 overs after Australia made 405/7 in 101 overs at stumps on day two at the Gabba.
Travis Head and Steve Smith smashed centuries by feasting on Indian bowlers by clobbering 171 runs in 31 overs in the third session. Morkel said the Indian bowlers could not sustain the momentum after taking three wickets in the morning session on Sunday.
“First of all, we can say he’s in pretty good form, guys playing like in that fashion, back-to-back innings, we can only give him a lot of credit. But for us with the ball, if you look at it from overs 50 to 80, even in the last game, at the moment it’s where we sort of fall short, leaking a little bit. So that’s one area I think we need to get better at.”
“First up with the ball this morning, we were pretty good, at 3 for 70, but took nothing away from two world-class players. Steve Smith, we know, is a guy that can bat big and score runs, and they put a partnership and put us under pressure with a softer older ball.”
“So it’s definitely an area that we need to focus on, maybe deeper in the innings, in terms of game plans. Yes, we’ve got the game plans, but are we executing those game plans with a softer ball from both ends? That’s something we need to discuss and get better at,” said Morkel to reporters in the post-day press conference.
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Morkel said Indian team had plans to counter Head but they fell flat as the left-handed batter hit 152.
“Our plan going into this game was to bowl a little bit more over the wicket, a straighter line. We felt he played it quite nicely in Adelaide when we came around,” Morkel said.
“The margins to him are just so small and like I said, once he’s in, what is the best way for the team and for you to maybe slow down the scoring rate because you know he’s going to be aggressive.”
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Asked how he would assess his bowlers based on their day two performances, Morkel stated the bowlers need to back up fast-bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was the standout bowler with 5/72.
“Akash (Deep) did well, bowled his heart out, same for (Mohammed) Siraj, he cramped early on in the day, so for him to still run in today and bowl, was great. (Jasprit) Bumrah is the number one bowler in the world and you need somebody to back him up but honestly, I can’t fault the effort of the other seamers.”
“Akash asked good questions with the new ball up front, asked good questions with the older ball and on another day could have easily picked up three wickets, but that’s the nature of this game,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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