Similar to England, India have not had the easiest path to the round of four, but bowling coach Morne Morkel downplayed the home team’s lackluster performance by stating, “It is not about how you get to the semifinals but about winning the next two games.”
India, the reigning champions, were overwhelming favorites into the T20 World Cup but have had a mixed performance thus far. Despite being in a must-win scenario versus the West Indies, they were able to cross the finish line.
Before the second semifinal match against England, Morkel was asked what he thought of the Super Eights bowling performance, which included Varun Chakravarthy, who was a little expensive by his high standards.
“They are good teams, they play well. If you expect us to bowl teams around for 120 or 150…. We are in the semifinals, we have won games of cricket. We know the margins are small in India. It is not how you get to semifinals. It is about the next two games how you are going to play,” PTI quoted Morkel as saying.
Going into the semifinals and trying to find the perfect match, England have also experienced a number of setbacks. On Thursday night, it might come against the hosts.
“For us, that is something we haven’t really spoken about, the perfect game. I think the quality of this team has been shown that on the day somebody can put their hand up and put up a performance. Hopefully in the last two games, especially tomorrow night, we can put that special performance in.
“Unfortunately, we all know how the game goes, success is never guaranteed, but if we can give ourselves the best chance to go out and perform, that is what we strive for. A big occasion tomorrow night here, the semifinal, a great stadium to play a great game of cricket, so hopefully the boys can rock up tomorrow and just be calm and execute those plans,” Morkel said.
The former South Africa bowler described the Harry Brook-led team as a dangerous one and said the series victory over England last year is no longer relevant. Abhishek Sharma’s spectacular century at Wankhede was part of the series victory.
“Playing against England, they’re a team that’s street smart. There’s a lot of quality in their side, batting quite long, deep, which makes them a very dangerous side. With the ball, they’ve got wicket taking options. I think the way they approach a T20 game, fearless, trying to take the game on, will give you opportunities and it makes them a dangerous side. I feel tomorrow is going to be a good shootout between two aggressive teams,” said Morkel.
Morkel stated that it would be crucial to make sure the surface doesn’t dry up because the weather has gotten hotter throughout the competition. On the eve of the game, there was a lot of grass covering because of this.
“To be honest, we’re not quite sure a day out how the wicket is going to play. I’m pretty sure you experience walking here, it’s a lot hotter all of a sudden in India, so in terms of moisture and allowing the wicket not to dry out, I think it’s going to be key to play well.
“Team selection will go in terms of what we see on game day. From there, we just need to be smart in our skills, reading the conditions and adapting to it. Plan A is to go in with some sort of idea, but the key is to find that skill of how to play on the wicket on a specific night.
“Like I said, I’ll probably have a better indication of what the surface is going to play like tomorrow. At the moment, because of the heat, they have given it a little bit of water, so it’s quite soft, so it’s quite hard to get a proper 100% accurate read on it,” Morkel said.
He stated that if there is dew, toss will be crucial. The second half of the game is anticipated to have a lot of dew.
“I think the dew is always a big concern. But that’s again something you can’t control the toss. If there is dew toss is important. I think at Wankhede there’s always that extra bit of bounce. Guys can trust the bounce and lead through the line. In saying that, that can also, as a bowler, bring you into the game. I just felt or feel that the margins here is a lot smaller. The ball travels, it’s quite a small ground. So you just need to be really fighting that over, stay in the moment and compete every ball,” he added.
