Were confident that we'll bat big but it just didn't happen: Morne Morkel

New Zealand started well with the bat on Day 1 of the second Test in Pune but Washington Sundar’s brilliance restricted them to 259 runs. India had a fair chance to bat long and take a lead in the first innings but instead, the batters struggled again and the hosts were bundled for 156 runs. Senior players Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli failed to get going and the in-form batters Rishabh Pant and Sarfaraz Khan failed to contribute much.

The batting unit didn’t look ready for Mitchell Santner, who picked up a seven-wicket haul. Ravindra Jadeja finished as the leading run-scorer for India with 38 runs to his name. In the third innings, the BlackCaps once again looked in well control of the game as they managed a 301-run lead to finish Day 2. With that, India’s chances of making a comeback look bleak as they are now on the verge of losing their first home Test series in 12 years.

After the end of the day’s play, India bowling coach Morne Morkel stated that they had the confidence to bat long and that didn’t happen. He lauded Santner to be ‘spot on’ with line and length and added that the Tom Latham-led side managed to rotate well, which built pressure on the Indian team.

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“I think they bowled very well in partnership. It was hard to rotate the strike. To keep the scoreboard ticking was important. The pace at which Santner bowled today was spot on. Arriving here 1-0, we were confident that we will bat big but it just didn't happen,” Morkel said at the press conference.

NZ tackled the conditions well and are on top of this game: Morkel

Morkel once again highlighted how well New Zealand batters played to put India under pressure. He explained that the Kiwis played all sorts of shots and tackled the conditions well, which put India won the back foot.

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“I must give credit to NZ. The way they tackled the conditions. They have been brilliant this series. That's the reason why they are top of this game as well. They are sweeping well, reverse sweeping well. I am not surprised the way they are playing. For us, it will be about how we do it tomorrow morning. Today was a tough day. We were on back foot again trying to get NZ out. Ash want to get the team back into the game, same with Bumrah,” the bowling coach added.