Morne Morkel was relieved when they got Joe Root out on day four of the fifth Test at The Oval. Root had been a thorn in their side and Morkel said he had given him many sleepless nights.
Root who was a problem for India while they were trying to defend 373 was caught trying to dab the ball to third man, edging it to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps.
Morkel was happy when Root was out for 105 off 152 balls. The former South African bowler told the media he was very happy to see Root go. He acknowledged Root’s skill and said the team was glad to get him out.
In this Test, India’s decision to play two spin bowling allrounders, a specialist batsman and three fast bowlers didn’t work out as they were almost losing. The Oval doesn’t help spinners. So the three fast bowlers had to do more work and captain Shubman Gill had to keep rotating Akash Deep, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna.
Morkel explained the reason for this setup in this crucial Test. He said the team felt scoring more runs was the better approach but he admitted the management would review their choices after the series to see what they could have done differently.
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He also mentioned the weather conditions, he further said the team felt going with an extra batsman was necessary. Morkel said in the last two Tests the fourth seamer didn’t bowl much because Washington Sundar or Ravindra Jadeja could bowl some overs. The team felt having a few extra runs was more important. He agreed it was a good question and something they would think about after the tour.
The final day of the Test is balanced as play was called off early on Sunday. England were 339/6, need 35 more to win the series 3-1. India need 4 wickets to tie the series and a good bowling performance from the quicks.
