The bowling coach for India Morne Morkel defended his answer to criticism concerning the pitch conditions which existed at Wankhede Stadium and Narendra Modi Stadium during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. He defended the work of ground staff members while he recognized that they faced difficulties when trying to create proper playing fields during the final part of the season.
Mumbai and Ahmedabad Have Different Conditions
- The pitches in Mumbai and Ahmedabad have behaved differently from expectations. High humidity in Mumbai has created special challenges for players during games. The ball in Ahmedabad does not travel to the bat in a reliable manner. Batters encounter more challenges because of these factors which restrict their ability to play their shots.
- Aggressive players such as Tilak Varma have found it hard to play freely. Captain Suryakumar Yadav has needed time at the crease before increasing his scoring rate. Morkel stated that the current playing surfaces do not fit the standard for 200-plus run pitches. The majority of matches have reached total scores which approximate 170 runs.
Support for Curators Under Pressure
- Morkel expressed his gratitude to the curators because of their dedication to their work. He explained that preparing high-scoring pitches at the end of the season presents challenges which make execution difficult. He also noted that curators face strong pressure from fans who expect high-scoring matches.
- He said the ground staff work hard to provide balanced and competitive pitches. He emphasized that the team respects the effort behind pitch preparation.
Learning From Every Match
- Morkel stated that India has performed well with both bat and ball in the tournament. Only the first match showed conditions which permitted teams to achieve very high scoring totals. The team has changed its strategy according to the specific requirements of each match.
- He explained that players must learn to adjust their playing style according to different field conditions. He believes that the ability to adjust between different styles of playing cricket represents one of the sport's major advantages.
Super 8 Clash Against South Africa
India will face South Africa in the Super 8 stage on Sunday. The team completed the group stage without a loss. Supporters expect India to maintain the same performance level in the next round.
