The South Africa captain believes the deciding Test of the three-match series against India in Cape Town, starting January 11, is “biggest” the national men’s team have been part of in the last decade or so. Dean Elgar talked up the magnitude of the occasion as his team stands on the verge of an important breakthrough over a major nation.
If they win, a talented but inexperienced and in-transition South African side will not only manage to regain the Freedom Trophy but also clinch important World Test Championship points. But above all, they gain a sense of belief for the journey ahead that they can defeat a mighty powerful side like India.
“This Test match is the biggest we’ve had in 10 or 15 years. Winning this series 2-1 would be huge. Beating the world No.1 team, even though it is in your back garden is going to bespeak massive amounts for our playing group going forward and the Proteas badge,”
Elgar was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
The captain is one major reason why the series has reached this far. After India won in Centurion with a hefty margin, there were suggestions from everywhere that this is arguably the weakest South African side they have had to face on tour. Elgar silenced those critics with a match-winning 96 not out in the final innings of the Jo’burg Test, which Proteas won by seven wickets to level the rubber 1-1 and set up the decider.
That victory would’ve reignited belief and confidence within the camp as Proteas also sight certain chinks in India’s armoury. The visitors, missing their regular skipper Virat Kohli, looked short on the batting front and failed to take the game away from the Proteas. They overcame a first-innings deficit of 27 runs after making only 202 on Day 1 but could only take their third-innings score to 266, setting South Africa a challenging but less than ideal 240-run target.
Proteas resurgence coinciding with an iffy performance by the series favourites only further spices up the series decider, which Elgar thinks if his team wins will be his biggest breakthrough as captain and player so far.
“It would be the biggest Test win in my playing career so far, especially with the leadership and captaincy now and having a bit more influence with regards to our players group,”
Elgar said.
“And from a players point of view, it would be massive for us. We’ve put in so much hard work over the last few months, and we’ve actually been playing pretty good cricket up until now but we’ve not had a lot of things go our way. You need some momentum on your side. We’ve been doing everything right. We’ve been ticking the boxes as best as we can,”
he added.
Other than the solidity on display with the bat, Elgar would’ve been mighty pleased to see bowlers hunting in a pack in both the innings of the Test match. Proteas’ four-pronged pace battery dismissed India for 202 after losing the toss on Day 1 before skittling them out to 266 in the second half. While the performance in the first half was vital, the one in the second innings ensured that India fell about 50-60 more runs short of taking the game away from South Africa.
Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi led the pack really well and allowed young Marco Jansen the comforting space to bowl at his best in either innings. The left-arm pacer bagged a four-fer in the first innings and backed it up with three wickets in the second.
