There were a few eyebrows raised on Friday when Hardik Pandya did not bowl beyond a single over after picking up the first wicket in the opening over. In addition to him, Abhishek Sharma, who slammed a 31-ball 61 too, was not seen on the field after his first innings’ ballistic effort. Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel confirmed that both players were suffering from cramps.
“Both of them struggled with cramps. Hardik, we will assess tonight and tomorrow morning and make a call. But both of them struggled with cramps. Abhishek is fine,” Morker said, speaking to the press after the game. India, defending a massive 202 runs on the board, looked in a bit of trouble as the incoming players Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh looked a bit rusty, as it was just their second game of this tournament.
“In our environment, we are trying to move away from the excuse culture. The effort they put into the training, we expect them to go out and deliver. Sometimes, it is the lack of game time. You can bowl as much as you want in the nets, but nothing beats game time. As a team, we expect guys to deliver. It is not happening for them right now, but in the bigger picture, the team is winning. These guys are X factors and match winners on their given day,” Morkel said.
The game was dragged into a Super Over thanks to Pathum Nissanka’s sublime 58-ball 107. However, India managed to win the Super Over as Sri Lanka could only manage two runs, and Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav finished the game off the first ball against Wanindu Hasaranga, scoring three runs.
Despite bowling an expensive spell during the game, Surya backed Arshdeep to bowl the Super Over. “He (Arshdeep) has delivered for us the last 2-3 years. I told him to back his own plans and try to execute. He has been there in that situation many times and he has done really well for India and for his IPL side. His confidence says it all. None other than Arshdeep to bowl that Super Over,” Surya said at the post-match Presentation.
India will face Pakistan in the final on Sunday. “Few boys had a lot of cramps today, we will have a recovery day tomorrow and turn up the same way we turned up today (talking about the final),” the Indian skipper said.
The postMorne Morkel confirms Hardik Pandya’s injury after IND vs SL clash: ‘We will assess tonight and tomorrow morning and make a call’ | Cricket News appeared first on Indian Express
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