NEW DELHI: The Indian cricket team’s batting woes in the first innings have become a major concern, as acknowledged by bowling coach Morne Morkel. The team’s inability to post substantial totals is proving to be detrimental to their chances of success, with India facing the possibility of losing their first Test series on home soil since the 2012-13 season.
Following their dismal performance in the opening Test, where they were dismissed for a paltry 46 in the first innings, India’s batting struggles continued in the second Test in Pune.
The hosts were once again bundled out for a meager 156 in their first essay on Friday, allowing New Zealand to seize control of the match and put the Indian team under immense pressure.
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“I never like to have a punch up between batters and bowlers but, in Test match cricket you need to score the first innings runs,” Morkel told the media during the post-day press meet.
“If we put our hand up, we haven’t been able to do that. There are world class players in our batting line up. I know that individually, they’ve got their processes and they know how to go about those things,” he added.
Morkel expressed hope for a stronger performance from the Indian batters in the second innings.
“Hopefully, we can iron those mistakes out because it’s costing us at the moment – not getting the runs on the board – but I’m pretty sure there’s enough experience, enough knowledge amongst them to rectify that,” he added.
“I back the team (to come up) with a strong response in our second innings. I’m excited to see how they bounce back and how they play this situation and the conditions,” he said.
Morkel stated that India must maintain belief and rely on their understanding of the conditions to avoid losing both the match and the series.
“We have to believe. This game is a funny game. Our guys are attacking players, there’s guys that know these conditions well. Our talk before this game was that we are masters in these conditions, we know how to sum these conditions up,” he said.
“Let’s be honest, it’s going to be a tough task. But what an opportunity for somebody to really inspire and put in a fighting and a top performance – that’s the way I see it.
“When conditions are tricky and tough you’ll see real people stand up and fight and if we show that fight and somebody gets the momentum going in these conditions, you never know,” he said.
Morkel mentioned that the hosts aimed to survive the overs on Day One, reaching 16/1 in 11 overs, before building momentum on Day Two.
“I think they (New Zealand) bowled very well in partnership. Watching from the outside, it was very hard for us to rotate strike, to keep the scoreboard ticking,” he said.
“In these sort of conditions where the ball is turning and asking a lot of questions, it is important to do that.
“The pace that (Mitchell) Santner bowled today in particular, was spot on for this surface. On Day Two, arriving here this morning being one down, our camp was very confident that we were going to bat big but unfortunately we just couldn’t get that momentum going,” he added.
Morkel praised New Zealand for arriving well-prepared for the tour.
“I must give credit to New Zealand. The way they’ve adapted to conditions, the way they’ve sort of blocked out what is in front of them and just played the game, it’s been incredible so far in this series,” he said.
“Definitely in Bangalore and here, playing those sessions, playing those important moments they’ve done it better than us at the moment.”
“And that’s one of the reasons why they’re on top of this game at the moment. They’re creating pressure with the ball. They’re putting our bowlers under pressure by sweeping and reverse-sweeping well.
“They’re a team that plans well, they go into tours and really leave no stone unturned so I’m not surprised by the way they’re playing at the moment,” he added.
