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India's bowling coach, Morne Morkel, praised the New Zealand bowlers for adapting well to the conditions, keeping constant pressure on India in the second Test at Pune's MCA Stadium. Morkel mentioned that while India faces a tough challenge, it's a great moment for someone in the team to inspire a comeback, as they stand on the brink of their first home Test series loss since 2012.
"I think they bowled very well in partnerships. Watching from the outside, it was very hard for us to rotate strike, to keep the scoreboard ticking. I think in these sorts of conditions, where the ball is turning and asking the batter questions, it is important to do that. I thought the pace that Santner bowled today in particular was spot on for this surface," Morkel said after the day's play. "I must give credit to New Zealand. The way they've adapted to conditions, the way they've blocked out what is in front of them and played the game has been incredible so far in this series. Definitely in Bangalore and here, playing those sessions, playing those important moments, they've done it better than us at the moment," he added. New Zealand's bowlers performed strongly and backed it up with determined batting. At 198/5 in their second innings, the visitors had built a significant 301-run lead on a tricky pitch. India, who allowed 259 runs in New Zealand's first innings, were bowled out for 156, with Mitchell Santner taking his first five-wicket haul in Tests, finishing with impressive figures of 7/53. India's second innings began with the early loss of captain Rohit Sharma for a duck, and while young players Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill tried to settle in, a middle-order collapse allowed New Zealand's spinners to dominate. "Day two, you know, arriving here this morning, being one down, our batters were very confident that we were going to bat big. But unfortunately, we just couldn't get that momentum going. I think you want to be playing cricket on the front foot in conditions like that. We just couldn't find that rhythm and that momentum today with the bat," Morkel said in the press conference when asked about day two. "Today was obviously a very tough day. We were sort of again slightly on the back foot, trying to bowl New Zealand out and get ourselves into the game. I can't fault the guy's effort," he added. "Even Bumrah, he tried today, he tried his heart out. Ashwin is a strike bowler, he's taken 500 plus Test wickets, so he's a guy that would want to get the team back into the game. Washington, for a guy who has played limited Test matches, showed a lot of maturity, gave us a lot of control, that was great to see. It's probably just a personal reflection for the players and tomorrow, we can regroup and come up with game plans," Morkel noted. With the series now in jeopardy, India's chances of levelling seem slim, and they'll need something remarkable to turn the game around. "What an opportunity for somebody to really inspire and put in a fighting and top performance. That's the way I see it is when conditions are tricky and tough, you'll see real people stand up and fight. I think if we show that fight and somebody gets the innings and gets the momentum going, in these conditions, you never know," Morkel said. "I back the team with a strong response in our second innings. Excited to see how they bounce back and how they play the situation and the conditions," the South African concluded. (ANI)
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