• Source:JND
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India vs England 5th Test: India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel revealed he was delighted when England veteran Joe Root lost his wicket in the final hour on Day 4 of the fifth and final Test against the visitors, stating that the talismanic batter gave him and his team ‘many sleepless nights’.

The dismissal of Root, who single-handedly pushed India on the back foot on Day 4 with his classy ton, during their daunting 374-run chase, renewed India's hope to stage a comeback. Root gave his precious wicket away while swiping the ball to the third man, edging it to wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel behind the stumps.

As Root returned in the hut after playing an impressive 105 (152), Morkel breathed a sigh of relief, which was evident during his press conference.

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“Oh, I was very happy, very happy. You know, Joe’s given me many sleepless nights, or us sleepless nights, and obviously, again, just showed his class today. Yeah, so very happy when we got the back of him," Morkel told reporters at the end of the day’s play.

While explaining the cause behind going with the setup in the final Test, Morkel said team management believed that putting extra runs was crucial as the side is taking on England, who are famous for their 'Bazball' aggressive approach, even while chasing the target.

“To be honest with you, that was part of the conversation before every selection so far, you know. We just felt leading into the test match, if you look at the wicket and sort of the overhead conditions for the first three days, they felt that going with the extra batter was going to be important," the bowling coach said.

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“I think in the last two test matches, our fourth seamer didn’t really bowl that much because Washi and Jadeja also could hold up an end and bowl some overs. And, yeah, they just thought, OK, having that little extra runs on the board, that was more important. Yeah, 100 per cent. That’s a good question, and I think that’s something we’ll obviously reflect on after the tour, the things we could have done better," he concluded.