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The South African pacer however renders himself doubtful for 4th ODI
After a splendid bowling spell at the death despite an injured leg, South African pacer Morne Morkel expressed his doubts about his availability for the fourth and penultimate game of the ODI series on October 22.
- De Kock, Morkel shine as South Africa steal victory in Rajkot ODI
Morkel bowled phenomenally to pilot South Africa to an 18-run win over India and take a 2-1 series lead in Rajkot on Sunday.
"I'm a little bit concerned about it, but I think we've got a quality medical team that will help me over the next two days. I pulled up in the fourth ball of my sixth over a little bit. But let's see. I'm not confident I'll be ready for the next game. It's just a matter now of the next 24 hours," Morkel said on Sunday.
The fourth match is at Chennai's M A Chidambaram Stadium and the hot conditions in the southern metropolis would not help his cause for sure.
"For me, it's just game fitness, getting the intensity in those few things going. Lots of times, I'm playing out of my ears and you need to see to bite the bullet and do the job for the team. But we fortunately bowled tonight under lights, so it helped a little bit," said Morkel.
"It wasn't dry heat like in the first innings. But we still need to dig deep. It's hard work, especially when you're up against a quality batting line-up where margins (for error) can be small. You need to be on the money, so it takes a lot of mental strength, the 50 overs," he added.
Morkel grabbed 4 for 39, snaring the wickets of top-scorer Virat Kohli (77) and Ajinkya Rahane off successive balls, in a superb burst of fast bowling to derail India's run-chase.
The Proteas skipper A B de Villiers also praised the effort of his bowling spearhead.
"Yeah, Morne came to me after he bowled six overs and he told me that he's got a little bit of a sore leg. I might have to think to get his overs out of the way. And, he bowled so well in that return spell that I had to keep him for one at the end there, so he showed a lot of guts and determination to get through that spell," said de Villiers after the game.
"It would have been a very easy decision for him to just go off and call it a day, but he pulled through for the boys and he bowled exceptionally well with a sore leg in the last four overs. He turned the game on its head, with a few other contributions, obviously. But he deserves all that is coming his way," de Villiers added.