It was a massive moment to get Virat Kohli out, says Dean Elgar
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Dean Elgar has admitted that getting Virat Kohli’s wicket is a major boost for South Africa as he considered it as a massive moment for the hosts. The South African has also voiced up for the disappointment over the pitch behavior and said as a home country the team usually get favorable wickets.
India needed 287 runs to register their first win on the tour and in that crucial moment when the team had already lost their openers very cheaply the visitors wanted their captain to contribute and prove once again why he considered as a chase-master on the cricket circuit. Indian fans' hopes were further inflated after watching the Indian skipper’s brilliant knock of 153-run in the first innings. But South African debutant Lungi Ngidi had other plans as he trapped Kohli in LBW for 5 before the stumps on the fourth day.
"It's massive for us and I think it's massive for India, knowing he is not batting. He's a very special batsman as we saw in the first innings and we knew it was a massive moment to get him out. But we all knew it was possible because he is human and he can also fail. I am sitting here with a smile on my face knowing there is one less very competitive, very talented guy that we don't have to deal with," he said as quoted by Cricketnext.
"We need to get seven wickets somehow, we don't really care how. We just need to execute our processes. The wicket will play into our hands nicely with our seamers and Keshav Maharaj coming in on what is proving to be a decent spinning wicket. Our fast bowlers thrive on bowling on wickets like this. If they can get the ball to reverse as soon as possible it will be a massive asset."Â
India ended the session with the score of 35/3 needing another 252 runs to get that elusive win. After losing their top three batsmen in the order, it is not going an easy task for the team. Before the visitors got the chance of batting, it was Indian bowlers who worked hard in controlling the run flow on the fourth day. AB de Villiers and Elgar built a remarkable partnership of 141 runs for the home side which helped them in scoring 258 in second innings. De Villiers was the highest scorer with 80 runs followed by Elgar (61) and Faf du Plessis (48). But the other players seemed struggling in adding runs to their account on their home ground.
"We were in quite a lot of trouble yesterday when AB and I got together, and we knew we had to find a way and grind it out. We were very thankful for a lead on that wicket - whether it was 30 runs or 50 runs - it was going to prove quite a lot. It was a good day for us and the cherry on the top was the way the bowlers put their hands up, It was a brilliant day for South Africa. By no means was it an easy day. The conditions worked in India's
After Day 3 game ended, Morne Morkel registered his disappointment over the Centurion track as he claimed that it felt like they were bowling in India. And next day, Elgar supported Morkel’s views and claimed that for playing against with sub-continent country they will never ask for this kind of pitch.Â
"First and foremost I am not a curator of a cricket ground. We give an indication of what we would like as a team playing against a various opposition, and being the home country you have that right. As it's working out, the wicket is playing
"It's very disappointing because SuperSport Park usually prepares very good Test pitches and as day three, four and five roll on it proves to be very competitive. It shows you should not just be relying on your first innings, you should be relying on your second to score runs as well. It's a little disappointing to have a wicket of this nature because it's not what we would choose to play a subcontinental side on, but so be it, we are done complaining about it. We just need to crack on and try and win a Test," he added.
