South Africa’s stand-in skipper Dean Elgar feels the pitch at the Newlands, Cape Town for the second Test against India is challenging. The match witnessed 23 wickets fall on the first day of the test on Wednesday, January 3. It has left both teams grappling due to its unpredictable bounce on the opening day itself.
Batting first, South Africa was bowled out for a paltry 55. In response, India took a 98-run lead, as they got all out for 153 runs. The visitors lost their last six wickets without scoring a run. South Africa has already lost three wickets in their second innings at the end of the first day’s play. The pitch poses a huge challenge for both teams as the match goes forward. South African skipper Dean Elgar was asked if the pitch was bad. Responding to the question, he said,
“I can’t say that because personally, I’ve had success on wickets that have gone around. My record on our wickets has been pretty good.”
You’ve got to apply yourself: Dean Elgar
South Africa’s stand-in skipper Dean Elgar further expressed that the batters have to apply themselves on such challenging wickets. He added that it is important to be disciplined and keep the game plan simple. Elgar has been South Africa’s most trusted player on challenging pitches. The batter said,
“They have been challenging but I think that’s what you’ve got to experience as a batter. For me, it’s all about the balance between bat and ball and it’s a fine line to get that right. In South Africa, maybe they get a little bit wrong and it is more in favour of the bowler.”
“But as a batter, you’ve still got to go out and apply yourself and you’ve got to be mentally hard on yourself to be disciplined, stay to a very simple game plan and execute. There’s no excuse going forward. You still have to apply yourself and that’s anywhere around the world. But particularly in South Africa where it is a little bit tougher,” he added.
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