NEW DELHI: Dean Elgar is set to wrap up his international career on a high note as he unexpectedly takes on the captaincy for South Africa in the second and final Test against India at Newlands, beginning on Wednesday.
Only days before the first Test in Pretoria, the 36-year-old Elgar revealed his decision to retire from international cricket after the conclusion of the brief series against the top-ranked Indians.
Following his outstanding performance in the first Test, where his innings of 185 laid the foundation for South Africa's innings and a 32-run victory, Elgar aims to bid farewell with another triumph.
While the bowlers also made significant contributions, South Africa's commanding win at Centurion was significantly influenced by Elgar's tenacious presence at the crease.
His remarkable performance played a crucial role in securing that the hosts cannot lose the short series to India, who had aimed to clinch a series victory in South Africa for the first time on this tour, often referred to as the 'final frontier.'
The injury to Temba Bavuma also propelled Elgar back into the captain's role that had been taken away from him in the previous February.
South Africa's young side can expect something of a backlash in conditions that will be a little less intimidating than in Pretoria and where a chastised Indian side have promised a better performance.
Captain Rohit Sharma fended off home criticism by pointing out previous success away from home. "We might have put in this performance here, but don't forget what we did in Australia and England," he said.
"We won the series in Australia on the back of our batting. We drew the series in England through our batting and bowling both. These performances can happen. It doesn't mean we don't know how to bat outside India. Sometimes the opposition performs better than us," he told reporters
India will likely have allrounder Ravindra Jadeja returning after upper back spasms kept him out of the first test and could make other changes among their under performing seamers.
South Africa are unbeaten in six previous tests at Newlands against India but face a tough examination despite being in a buoyant mood after their success in the Boxing Day Test.
"We've proven that we can produce players, but sometimes we are too humble as a group. We are so quick to talk up other players and we don't give our players enough credit," said coach Shukri Conrad in an effort to pump up his players even further.
(With Reuters Inputs)
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