Aggression was the order of the day for the Indian team as they took to the bat on the fourth day of the second Test match against Bangladesh played in Kanpur. With over Two and a half days washed out of the rain in the match, the men scored 285/9 in merely 34.4 overs at a rate of 8.22 in a Test match. By the end of a day’s play, India had not only declared their innings but also dismissed two batters from Bangladesh thus giving them a good possibility of a result in the second Test. While it was Rohit Sharma and his batters who earned accolades for the approach, bowling coach Morne Morkel later shared the views that head coach Gautam Gambhir had brought out.
While addressing the media after the conclusion of 4th days play in Kanpur, Morkel stated that even Gambhir was keen on Rohit and his boys accelerating the process. The players executed exactly what the coach wanted them to.
“Even from GG’s (Gautam Gambhir) point of view, we thought it best to take the game to the opposition as quickly as possible, and you need a leader from the front to do that. And Rohit has done it so many times, and again today. You want to get to the first ball, bang six, on a pitch where the bounce will be up and down, or perhaps the new ball plays tricks. You can even slightly get on the back foot as a bowling unit. So to see the captain do that, and lead from the front was brilliant,” Morkel told the media on Monday.
Morkel became part of the backroom staff of the Indian team after Gambhir was appointed as head coach. The former Proteas paceman cannot get over how professional the Indian team is, whether it is when it comes to the nets or maintaining fitness.
“At this juncture, it has been a pleasure to witness their level of professionalism and the efforts they put in every day to deliver a show for the audiences, not to mention recovering after all that. It’s up there.
“So with regards to the gym, fitness, eh, I can understand, they literally cover everything. I’m not shocked,” he added.
