“On this wicket that is possible” - Dean Elgar confident of South Africa defending a target of 100 in Cape Town Test
South Africa's stand-in captain Dean Elgar has stated that the Proteas are confident of defending a target of 100 or more in the Cape Town Test against India. According to Elgar, who is playing in his last international fixture, they have the bowlers to defend the target on the Newlands surface.
Twenty-three wickets fell on a crazy opening day of the second India-South Africa Test in Cape Town on Wednesday. South Africa were bowled out for a paltry 55 batting first, while India replied with 153. The hosts were 62/3 at stumps in their second innings.
Speaking at the end of an action-packed day at Newlands, Elgar backed his bowlers to defend a target of 100 in the Test.
"I would take 100 (victory target) all day. When our bowlers click they can rip through any batting lineup and on this wicket that is possible," Elgar was quoted as telling reporters.
The veteran opener was at a loss to explain the batting collapse that saw South Africa register their lowest-ever Test total against India.
"I didn’t know it would play in that way though, with the naked eye it did not look so bad. But it’s one of those wickets where if you knuckle down, you never know what can happen. You still have to put the ball in the right area and they (India) executed that to a tee. This pitch just seemed to get quicker as the (first) session went on. I don’t know what to make of it," the 36-year-old stated.
Elgar was dismissed for 4 and 12 in his farewell international game, finishing his Test career with 5347 at an average of 37.92 with 14 hundreds.
“I would still stick to batting first” - Dean Elgar
Asked about the decision to bat first in Cape Town in the wake of what transpired, Elgar stated that he would still have batted first.
"I would still stick to batting first after seeing how the wicket has played," the opener opined.
The stand-in skipper, who is leading in his last Test in Temba Bavuma’s absence, also hailed his bowlers for leading South Africa’s brilliant fightback and restricting the visitors' lead to under 100.
"The older ball was still doing something. We’ve just experienced a really crazy day of Test cricket. I just said to the guys I will measure them on attitude and execution with the ball. We maybe leaked a few runs with half-volleys but I can’t fault the bowlers for the effort they put in," Elgar commented.
India were 153/4 in their first innings but imploded to lose six wickets for no runs in 11 balls - a first in the history of Test cricket.