Dean Elgar ‘forgets the pain’ after guiding South Africa to a historic win vs India in Johannesburg

Dean Elgar took some horrific blows on his body during the fourth innings of the South Africa chase. Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami were all getting extra zip and movement from the Johannesburg wicket. But, Elgar weathered the blows. The South Africa captain wanted to change the course of the match at a venue where the Proteas have never won against India. Slowly but with tremendous determination and grit, Elgar thwarted the Indian bowlers. He and Rassie van der Dussen shared an important partnership to help South Africa win the match by seven wickets and level the series 1-1.

Speaking after the end of the match, Dean Elgar spoke about the blows that were inflicted on him but he forgot all about the pain after the win. “I am yet to see the bruises (the blows he received). But it’s a big motivation to go and play for your country. Whatever I’m going through, it’s important to see the bigger picture . The bigger picture is to win games for your country. When you perform like this over the period of four days, it does make you forget the pain in doing so,” Elgar said.

South Africa overcome the odds

Remarkably, for a home Test, the odds were stacked against South Africa. They had lost Quinton de Kock who retired after the loss in Centurion. The surface in Johannesburg assisted the Indian pacers a lot more than the Proteas pacers. In the past, South Africa’s batting has struggled against India. But in this match, Elgar says that most boxes were ticked.

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“A lot of test for our batters. We have struggled to find the right batting line-up, find the people for the right roles, entrust the people into their roles and to bat in such a way in not so easy conditions pleases you a lot,” Elgar said.

The South Africa skipper also paid tribute to Rassie van der Dussen and Kagiso Rabada for the way how they supported the South African team with bat and ball. “The way Rassie van der Dussen batted, he will go a long way in his career. The way he batted (during his knock of 40) will set him up in the future. Sometimes Kagiso Rabada needs something to happen around. The catch that van der Dussen took, it got him into the mindset. He wants to be fired up all the times and wants to bowl well and as a captain. It’s nice to get him running around. It wasn’t easy, but the bowlers did the job for me,” Elgar said.

The final Test will be played in Cape Town and it is a venue where South Africa has never lost to India. But, Elgar is unsure of what the surface will be at the venue. “It is interesting to see what kind of a surface they’ll give us. 1-1, South Africa v India, going into the final Test all square, we couldn’t have written a better script,” Elgar stated.