Dean Elgar’s heroic knock leads SA to series-levelling win

Dean Elgar played a captain’s knock scoring an unbeaten 96 to take the hosts to a 7-wicket win levelling the 3-match series 1-1 against India. After the rain interruption the play finally started in pen-ultimate day of the Test match where South Africa resumed the day with an overnight score of 118/2. Despite the overcast conditions the Protea captain Dean Elgar along with Rassie van der Dussen started steadily. Skipper Elgar notched up a gritty half-century with a boundary. The duo struck a fifty run partnership and also took team’s total beyond the 140-run mark which meant that the hosts needed less than 100 runs to win with 8 wickets in hand.

Local lad van der Dussen struck consecutive boundaries to Mohammed Shami and in the very next deliver the pacer conceded 5 extras. Indian captain KL Rahul introduced in-form Shardul Thakur into the attack but unfortunately the pacer conceded 11 runs in the over. Shami was finally rewarded for his persistency as the pacer dismissed van der Dussen caught in the slip by Cheteshwar Pujara for 40 at the score of 175. Shami also found the outside edge of Elgar but the ball went over the slip fielders for a boundary.

Shardul Thakur who bagged 7 wickets in the first innings dropped a caught and bowled chance of Temba Bavuma squandering an opportunity coming India’s way. Captain Dean Elgar looked solid hitting consecutive boundaries to Shami moving into the 70s and taking Proteas total to 190 needing only 50 runs to win the Test match. Elgar-Bavuma duo took the visitors total beyond 200-run mark as India desperately kept trying for wickets.

Elgar started looking dangerous and he also did the same to Mohammed Siraj what he did to Shami hitting him off consecutive boundaries and Siraj just like Shami gave away 5 extra runs in the next delivery. Siraj conceded 18 runs in the over as the match kept slipping away from KL Rahul and company.

Elgar and Bavuma comfortably took South Africa home with the captain fittingly scoring the winning runs as the hosts levelled the 3-match Test series 1-1.

Brief Scores: India 202/10 and 266/10 (Cheteshwar Pujara 53, Rahane 58; Kagiso Rabada 3-54) vs South Africa 229/10 and 243/3 (Dean Elgar 96*, Rassie van der Dussen 40, Aiden Markram 31, Temba Bavuma 23*; Ravichandran Ashwin 1-26).