India's bowling coach Morne Morkel attended the Press Conference after the fourth day's play.
1014 runs by India in a Test match! The ENG vs IND series is going full throttle. India are on another level on the batting front. Skipper Shubman Gill has smashed 430 runs in the match, 23 more than what England scored in their first innings. After scoring 587 batting first, the Indians managed to skittle England out for 407. They once had the Three Lions reeling at 84/5, but a 303-run stand between Jamie Smith and Harry Brook carried them past the 400-run mark. For the visitors, Mohammed Siraj was the hero. In the absence of their frontline pacer Jasprit Bumrah, it was important for someone to step up. Mohammed Siraj did, and how! The speedster finished with a spell of 6/70 in the first innings, to help India set up a 180-run lead.
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Chasing 608, England ended Day 4 at 72/3. Openers Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley as well as Joe Root have been sent back in the hut already. India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel was all praises for the pacers after the fourth day’s play. The former South African pacer attended the Press Conference and gave his insights on the visitors’ bowling, the declaration decision, as well as Siraj’s bowling. The coach was all praises for Akash Deep, who dismantled England’s top-order late on Day 4. The South African legend also mentioned that the Indians expected two or three wickets by the end of day’s play, and they were happy that they got there.
“Very happy with the performance. As for Akash Deep, he is an attacking bowler always asking questions on the stumps. Nice sign for us to see him run in like that after coming from an injury. Hopefully, he will play that Joe Root dismissal delivery on his phone tonight”, said India’s bowling coach.
Jasprit Bumrah not playing this Test match was a shock decision for a lot of spectators. With India being unable to defend 371 in the previous Test at Headingley, questions were always going to be raised over Bumrah’s exclusion from this Test. But there’s a pattern with Siraj. Some players raise their game when entrusted with responsibility. And the Gujarat Titans (GT) pacer is surely one of those. Siraj always tends to put his hand up for the team in the absence of Bumrah. And this Test was no different. Morkel said in the press conference that he has a lot of respect for the Indian pacer. The bowling coach also went on to say that Siraj is the one who does the dirty job for the team.
“Mohammed Siraj is a guy I have a lot of respect for. He bowls with his heart on his sleeve. Sometimes he tries too hard and that might create a bit of inconsistency in his bowling. But we don’t give him enough credit. He does the dirty job for the team”, said a very proud Morkel.
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Once India crossed the 450-run lead mark, declaration was always a question of when. A declaration generally means that one believes they’re ahead in the game. And given the way the Three Lions have been playing their cricket, there was no doubt that they would go for the chase. Hence, India thought of some more cushion in terms of runs on the board. Morkel said that the team was constantly in talks about the timing of declaration. He expressed that the wicket is behaving quite well, and one really cannot control the weather. The 40-year-old bowling coach also took a dig at Harry Brook, who had given a bold statement in the presser after the day’s play on Day 3.
“We did speak a lot during the day [about declaration]. It is a good wicket. We can’t really control the weather. We wanted two to three wickets today, and we are happy that we got them. Harry Brook mentioned last evening that they will go for the chase. So we have an exciting day of cricket [Day 5]”, said India’s bowling coach.
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