Cuttack: He had literally given up hopes of making a national comeback before David Wiese's injury provided Albie Morkel with a second chance as he grabbed it with both hands with a Man of Match performance of 3/12, which he termed as one he would "remember forever".
"I am just happy for the opportunity. In cricket, its tough sometimes. Today was my night, the next night will be someone else's. I am fortunate that I got a Man of the Match award on my comeback game and it is something I will remember forever," Morkel said at the post match news conference.
Morkel was not chosen for the first T20I in Dharamsala but Faf du Plessis picked the speedster in place of Marchant de Lange in what proved to be a masterstroke on the Barabati pitch that suited pace and bounce.
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"It was awesome. Even two weeks ago, I didn't know what was happening on this tour. A freak accident to David Wiese gave me this opportunity. The boys welcomed me into the side very quickly. I arrived here only last Friday.
It's very satisfying. I have put in a lot of effort in the last season with Titans, my state side, without any visions of playing for South Africa. I certainly should not be saying that I should be playing. I am certainly not going to make any statement saying I should be in the team," he said.
Riding on Morkel's best figures, South Africa dismissed India for their second-lowest T20 total before securing a series clinching six wicket win.
"Pitch suited our bowling attack nicely. There was a lot of bounce, uneven bounce actually, something our bowlers as a unit really exploited and we had India under the pump," Morkel pointed out.
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Morkel was also all praise for Kagiso Rabada and termed him a natural talent as the rookie speedster impressed with his speed and bounce and returned with figures of 1/18.
"I had never played with Rabada before today and watched him at the warm-up before the first game. I could honestly say that in my 16 years of first-class career, I have not seen anyone like him at the age of 19. I grew up seeing a young Dale Steyn come through the ranks. Rabada has got serious heart, and got serious bounce. He hit 150 today.
You don't often see that. He is going to be a fantastic prospect for South Africa and win many games. He is one of those guys with special talent. You can't coach what he has got, he is just a natural talent," Morkel concluded.
