3rd Test: Bowlers have to work on leaking runs between 50-80 overs, admits Morkel

Brisbane, Dec 15 (IANS) 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. In day two’s play at the Gabba, Travis Head and Steve Smith smashed centuries by feasting on Indian bowlers as Australia made 405/7 in 101 overs.

“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.

He also explained the plans Indian team had to counter Head, which eventually 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.”

“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.”

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.”

Morkel also backed left-arm spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who had a rough outing by leaking 76 runs in his 16 overs. “Jaddu, coming into this match didn’t have a lot of game time, but he is also a guy who has taken a lot of Test wickets.”

“We wanted to bring in the left-arm option, he is also a guy, who can offer us a lot with the bat. Unfortunately, today wasn’t his day. He is a world-class player and he will work it out,” he concluded.

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