London [UK], August 4 (ANI): India bowling coach Morne Morkel expressed his delight about the dismissal of England’s talismanic batter Joe Root in the final hour of the fourth day of the gripping fifth Test at The Oval, a player who has given him many “sleepless nights”.
India found a second wind when Root, who was a constant tormentor throughout India’s defence of a 373-run target, lost his precious scalp. He gave in to his habit of dabbing the ball to the third man and perished by sending a thick outside edge to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps.
As Root returned with a record-shattering 105(152), Morkel’s relief was palpable. The former South African seamer, who endured a nightmare while bowling to Root, spilt the beans about his reaction after witnessing his dismissal.
“Oh, I was very happy, very happy. You know, Joe’s given me many sleepless nights, or us sleepless nights, and obviously, again, just showed his class today. Yeah, so very happy when we got the back of him,” Morkel told reporters at the end of the day’s play.
In the final Test, India’s decision to deploy two spin bowling all-rounders, a specialist batter and three pacers conspired against them and pushed them to the verge of defeat. The Oval, which has a history of offering hardly anything to spinners, increased the workload on three speedsters, forcing captain Shubman Gill to rotate Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna constantly.
Morkel explained the rationale behind going with the setup in the decisive Test and revealed that the management felt putting extra runs on the board was the right thing to do. He also acknowledged that after the series concludes, the management will reflect on and identify what they could have done better.
“To be honest with you, that was part of the conversation before every selection so far, you know. We just felt leading into the test match, if you look at the wicket and sort of the overhead conditions for the first three days, they felt that going with the extra batter was going to be important,” he said.
“I think in the last two test matches, our fourth seamer didn’t really bowl that much because Washi and Jadeh also could hold up an end and bowl some overs. And, yeah, they just thought, OK, having that little extra runs on the board, that was more important. Yeah, 100 per cent. That’s a good question, and I think that’s something we’ll obviously reflect on after the tour, the things we could have done better,” he concluded.
The final day of the Test is perfectly poised after rain forced an early closure to the game on Sunday. England returned to the dressing room after putting 339/6 on the board, standing 35 runs away from a 3-1 series win. On the other hand, a spirited bowling performance from quicks left India four wickets away from concluding the series on level terms. (ANI)
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