‘Wickets have been extremely flat’: India bowling coach reacts to high-scoring T20I series against WI

India bowling coach Morne Morkel highlighted the challenges of bowling on flat pitches at Bengaluru’s M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, saying dew makes it even harder when the ball gets wet. Morkel pointed out that the last two matches were played on drier pitches, giving bowlers a “small chance” to follow their plans and control the opposition’s scoring.

He added that bowling second on a flat pitch with a wet ball puts extra pressure on the bowling unit, especially when batters are playing attacking shots.

Morkel was speaking to reporters on Friday, a day before India’s fifth and final T20I against the West Indies in Bengaluru.

“The first thing we would say is that the wickets have been extremely flat, making it difficult for bowlers to operate. That’s the reality of the conditions, and we’ve spoken about it quite a bit. It becomes particularly tricky when there’s a lot of dew around. The last two games we’ve played were much drier, which gave the bowlers at least a small chance,” he said.

“However, when you’re bowling second on these good surfaces, and the ball is wet, the pressure on the bowling unit increases significantly,” he added.

Also Read -IND-W vs ZIM-W, 1st T20I: Deepti Sharma, Niki Prasad shine as India beat Zimbabwe by four wickets

His comments come after a high-scoring T20I series between India and the West Indies, with both teams finding it difficult to defend totals above 200 runs.

Speaking about the second T20I in Ranchi, where the West Indies chased down a target of 250 runs by scoring 252/4 in just 18.3 overs, Morkel admitted that defending such a total was difficult against an aggressive batting side.

Also Read - BCCI names India’s ODI squad for NZ tour, Gill and Iyer to share captaincy

He also highlighted the challenge of bowling during the powerplay, when fielding restrictions limit the number of players allowed outside the circle. Morkel said India must continue to improve their skills and execution to deal with these conditions.

“I was quite nervous even when we had 250 to defend. I knew that we might struggle to execute our plans, especially against an aggressive West Indies batting line-up. Their approach is almost like a clearance sale, everything must go. They play an attacking brand of cricket, and while you might expect that approach to create wicket-taking opportunities, more often than not, the shots still end up going for six,” he added.

“It’s particularly difficult to defend a total in the powerplay when only two fielders are allowed outside the circle. Those are the realities we have to deal with. The conditions aren’t going to change, so all we can do is keep working on our skills and find ways to improve our execution,” he concluded.

The West Indies defeated India by 24 runs in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad to level the five-match series at 2-2.

The fifth and final T20I will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday (Oct 17).

With inputs from agencies