Dean Elgar finished as the eighth-leading run-getter for South Africa in Test cricket history. The southpaw played 86 games for his country across 11 years and scored 5347 runs with the help of 14 centuries and 23 half-centuries.
Team India gave a fitting farewell to outgoing South African Test stalwart Dean Elgar as he made the long walk towards the Proteas dressing room at the Newlands after being dismissed for the final time in his Test career on Wednesday (January 3).
Known for his gritty batting nature, Elgar was undone by India’s emerging pacer Mukesh Kumar in the 11th over of South Africa’s second innings. The stand-in South Africa skipper poked at an out-swinging delivery bowled on the fourth stump channel and the edge was safely pouched by Virat Kohli at first slip.
Even in his final Test outing, Elgar was his vintage self as he made the Indian bowlers earn his wicket rather than simply throwing it away. The Indian players gave a fitting farewell to the 36-year-old Protea as they gave him warm hugs on his way out to the dressing room.
India’s pace sensation Mohammed Siraj, the wrecker-in-chief in South Africa’s batting collapse in the first innings, was the first one to hug Elgar and Virat and Jasprit Bumrah followed suit.
Watch India players give a fitting farewell to Dean Elgar:
Elgar’s retirement brings curtains on an 11-year-long defiant Test career that prevented South Africa’s home record in the longest format of the game from crumbling like a fragile brick wall. Elgar’s presence in the South African batting order provided it with the stability that it needed in the aftermath of some illustrious Test retirements – Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, and Quinton de Kock among others.
Though the Welkom-born won’t be able to make any more contributions with the bat in the ongoing Cape Town Test, the hosts will require his tactical brilliance on the field to keep their proud Test record at home against the Rohit Sharma-led India intact.
