Bowling coach Morne Morkel.
Credit: Reuters Photo
Kanpur: The Indians dished out a spectacular assault on Bangladesh in their bid to force a result in the second Test where two days of play was lost due to ‘wet outfield’, and their bowling coach Morne Morkel said the plan was conceived in the morning as the team felt there’s was enough time to get full points.
“That was our message this morning despite losing two days out of the match,” said Morkel of India’s blistering approach where they scored 285/9 declared in 34.4 overs to turn the Test on its head here at the Green Park Stadium.
“We started this morning to show that positive intent was going to be key. Two days left in the match, extended sessions, there's still a lot of cricket, a lot of time left in the game, and it's also important to show that intent. I thought the way the boys went executing the plans was incredible.
“You can have the best laid plans but if you can't execute it for a long period of time, you know, you're going to fall short. But, you know, this group so far has been on the money. It’s great to see how we adapt to conditions,” the South African added.
Just before India broke loose with the bat, Ravindra Jadeja reached a milestone when he dismissed Khaled Ahmed for his 300th Test scalp. The 35-year-old Jadeja became the seventh Indian bowler to achieve that feat and third from the country to complete the 3,000 runs-300 wickets double.
Morkel heaped praise on the all-rounder who is a priceless asset to this Indian team. “For me, he's a complete package. You know, he bats, he bowls, he's a guy in the field that can make magic happen. There's always a guy that you want in your team and he's done that for so many years for India. To join the 300 club is special. He's also a guy that works on his game constantly and I’m just so happy for him to eventually reach that milestone,” said Morkel.