'I Would Still Stick to Batting First..': Dean Elgar Doubles Down on His Decision Despite 'Crazy Day'

Dean Elgar may not be concerned about individual stats but even he wouldn’t have wanted the pitch at Newlands to be so hostile to batters on the opening day of his farewell Test that got underway on Wednesday.

In what he described as a ‘crazy day of Test cricket’, Elgar feels that a target of 100 could well be enough for his side to secure a win over India in Cape Town for a 2-0 clean sweep.

Astonishingly, 23 wickets fell on Day 1 with fast bowlers having a dream day under the Cape Town sun.

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Despite India a little ahead of them at the moment, South Africa captain Elgar feels his bowlers can rip through the tourists.

“I would take 100 (victory target) all day,” Elgar told reporters. “When our bowlers click they can rip through any batting lineup and on this wicket that is possible.”

The 36-year-old opted to bat first and said that there wasn’t anything visible on the pitch that would indicate it will be a nightmare for the batters.

“I didn’t know it would play in that way though, with the naked eye it did not look so bad. But it’s one of those wickets where if you knuckle down, you never know what can happen,” Elgar said.

“You still have to put the ball in the right area and they (India) executed that to a tee. This pitch just seemed to get quicker as the (first) session went on. I don’t know what to make of it,” he added.

South Africa were bowled out for 55 with Mohammed Siraj taking six wickets. In reply, India were bowled out for 153, taking a lead of 98 runs.

“The older ball was still doing something. We’ve just experienced a really crazy day of Test cricket,” Elgar said.

“I just said to the guys I will measure them on attitude and execution with the ball. We maybe leaked a few runs with half-volleys but I can’t fault the bowlers for the effort they put in,” Elgar he added.

When asked if he would change his decision to bat first knowing how the pitch behaved, Elgar replied,  “I would still stick to batting first after seeing how the wicket has played.”