India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel. File
| Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar
Amidst concerns about Rohit Sharma’s below-par form, India bowling coach Morne Morkel backed the premier batter to break out of the rut soon.
“It’s hard work [against] the new ball up front and we’ve seen that in the entire series,” said Morkel on match-eve. “Rohit, no doubt, will work it out. He’s done it in the past, and he is experienced. He brings calmness to the batting line-up. So without a doubt, no worries and concerns at all with the way he’s going about things.”
In the four-wicket loss in Cardiff, India couldn’t break the English middle-order’s resistance as Joe Root carried the home side with a patient 133-ball unbeaten 99. But India did not have the services of spinner Washington Sundar, who had sustained a hamstring injury while batting.
“To be honest, the way we bowled in the last game was exceptional,” Morkel opined. “Just looking at the numbers, the high speeds that the boys generated and the areas that we bowled in were great to see.
“We went in wanting to use Prasidh [Krishna] and Gurnoor [Brar] with their extra bounce in the middle phase. We’ll keep on working on ways to get those breakthroughs. But Joe played exceptionally well… classy innings there. We’ve got a couple of plans in place and hopefully, they will work [on Sunday].”
The former South Africa pacer backed the Indian batters to shine even in the likelihood of the Lord’s pitch not being conducive to free-flowing run-making.
“Our top and middle-orders are very experienced. They are very well aware of how to form partnerships, and that’s going to be the key. In the last game, we looked pretty set to get to that 280-300 mark, but unfortunately lost a couple of wickets.
“The 50-over game is about partnerships, and if we can form that with bat and ball, it will be an exciting game for us,” the 41-year-old added.
Published – July 19, 2026 02:46 am IST
