We have learnt a lot about the wicket today: Eoin Morgan

England managed to keep Afghanistan at bay after coming close to an upset defeat. They were at 59/6 after 10 overs when Moeen Ali used his brain to hold his end firm and not repeat the mistakes of the England top order that panicked after the early dismissals of their opening batsmen. A day before, Eoin Morgan had said his side hasn't zeroed on a final playing XI but hinted that considering the natur of Kotla track, an extra spinner might make a late entry in place of a seamer.
They opted otherwise.
Two changes were made to their playing XI that chased down a record total against South Africa in Mumbai. One forced - Alex Hales sitting out due to a back problem - and another based on tactic - Liam Plunkett in place of Reece Topley who was proving to be an expensive prospect. No extra spinner. Four pacers, two spinners.
Afghanistan's attack couldn't be more contrasting. They had three spinners and one seamer. They were proven right. England were reduced to a rubble. Morgan must have thought his counterpart Asghar Stanikzai has won the first battle. Afghan spinners had dismissed five batsmen within the first 10 overs before Moeen Ali and pacers took the game away from them.
Morgan said England learned a lot about the Kotla pitch after managing to stave off Afghanistan despite their plans falling flat. "I think (we learned) a lot about the wicket. Coming here and playing at WT20, this was the type of wicket that every single one of us was expecting. We spoke a lot about it before we played. The executions of our plans were off by long way," Morgan said after the match. "It's very important between now and Sri Lanka game that we sit down as a group and emphasise what we are trying to do and make sure it's the right plan and reinforce that. And do our best to enforce them."
Morgan said there was no need to question England batsmen as this is the same side that chased down 230 against South Africa. He said the intent the batsmen showed today was good and it was simply the case of them being not able to execute their plans properly.
"I thought if we have been a bit tentative, we would have gone the wrong way. The intent we showed was really good. I think the application of what skills and what objectives we are trying to produce is important."
The decision to play Plunkett in place Topley surprised many especially on a track that was expected to help spinners and England had a left-arm spinner Liam Dawson in their squad to exploit that. Fortunately, for England's sake, the decision didn't backfire and Plunkett bowled economical four overs. "It (the pitch) didn't turn a great deal today. It just held. So we thought of bringing Liam in, particularly against Afghanistan who are better players of spin than seam. We necessarily don't have to rely on our two spinners which we do a lot of the time. I think Liam came in and bowl exceptionally well. David Willey and Chris Jordan set up the first couple of overs. Willey just seems to find a way of taking wickets. So that was very encouraging," he explained.
Morgan said his decision to bat first was based on the experience he has gained over the years while playing in the Indian Premier League. "No, I don't think so," he said when quizzed whether he had gambled by opting to bat first. "I think when you play day games in India, I have played in IPL and lot of cricket that I have played here suggests that batting first and getting a good score favours as opposed to chasing under lights. Now the game against Sri Lanka is a night game. It might differ from now and then. Now the girls are playing here. So we might get inkling."
When England lost their seventh wicket in Chris Jordan, they had managed just 85 runs in 14.3 overs. The danger of being bowled out for a low total was on the horizon. However, Moeen had sensed what needed to be done. He shied away from breaking free and instead chose to bide his time while rotating the strike and leaving it late to gather quick runs. His only problem was he was running out of partners. He found an able one in David Willey and together they stitched an unbeaten 57-run stand which took them to a strong total. Moeen finished on 40 while Willey scored 20.
Morgan praised Moeen and Willey for their approach saying, "It was very important (the partnership). The difference between chasing 120 and 140 is huge. One of our strengths is that we bat deep. I though he (Moeen) batted really well today. Afghanistan were playing four spinners and only one seamer, they would run the risk of having to bowl spinners in the last few overs. So, it was always a risk that you would take."
"While most of our batting struggled today, those two guys showed a great deal of application in the right manner. Our starts on typical wickets likes this is very difficult. You almost need to mistakes before you actually click your brain into thinking right things," Morgan said.