IND vs ENG: Did Shubman Gill declare the 2nd innings too late? Indian coach explains reason behind the decision

As India declared their second innings on a score of 427/6, with a lead of 608 runs over the hosts. When India’s bowling coach Morne Morkel was asked if Shubman Gill could have declared earlier, he gave the reason behind the timing of this decision.

Morkel stated that the decision of declaration was being talked for a long time. Though the weather is not in control of anyone, the coach stated that the team wanted to be in a comfortable position. Also, the plan to bag a couple wickets was also executed perfectly.

“We did speak about it [timing of declaration] a lot during the day. It’s still a good wicket, even our boys were batting quite comfortably there towards the back end. They were batting at 4-5 runs an over. You can’t control the weather. It was about getting ourselves into a comfortable position and having 20-25 overs at them tonight to take a few wickets. We got that, which is a bonus for us,” Morkel said.

Morkel also lauded captain Shubman Gill for his extraordinary run in the series thus far, having scored a double hundred and two hundreds in four innings. “Very happy for Shubman. As captain on a big tour, coming to England, he has handled the expectations very well so far,” he said.