Centurion, Dec. 14: South African fast bowler Morne Morkel feels that despite having Gary Kirsten as coach and the experience of playing in the IPL and Champions League in these conditions, the Indian players would not have it easy during the three-match Test series beginning Thursday.
“It’s a contest we are looking forward to. We all know that on South African wickets the ball tends to bounce a little bit longer where in India we only have five overs or so (to strike) with the new ball,” Morkel siad.
The SuperSport Park at Centurion, compared to other South African pitches, hasn't been that helpful to fast bowlers in recent years but Morkel cited this season's match between Titans and Warriors. “We asked for a nice quick wicket and we bowled out the Warriors for 70. The pace and bounce was very good for the first three days but later it became a good deck,” he said.
Morkel also said he was looking forward to bowling to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag on a ground where his strike partner Dale Steyn plied his trade.