Elgar attacking century to his last Series
2023.12.27
Dean Elgar hit a boundary-studded century as South Africa scored rapidly on the second day of the first Test against India to take a slender 10 run lead into Day 3, at Super Sport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.
On the eve of his retirement, Dean Elgar and new cap David Bedingham put South Africa ahead on the second day of the first Test against India at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.
South Africa reached 256 for five, a lead of 11 runs, when play was halted due to inclement weather. Elgar hit a boundary-studded 140 not out and Bedingham an assured 56.
Two late wickets kept India in the game, especially as South African skipper Temba Bavuma did not bat on the opening day due to a hamstring issue.
The South African dressing room provided no update on his condition, but he stayed in his tracksuit while other batters took their turns to pad up.
KL Rahul struck 101 for India, his eighth Test century and second in a row in Centurion, and was the last man out as India were destroyed for 245.
Elgar, 36, who has declared his retirement from international cricket after the second Test in Cape Town next week, had to battle Indian new ball spinners Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj early on.
However, when India surprisingly did not employ the two strike bowlers immediately after lunch, the left-handed opening batsman flourished with some of the most elegant stroke play of his career.
Elgar’s fifty came off 79 balls with 10 fours, while his 14th Test century came off 140 balls with nine more boundaries. Before the game was called off, his scoring pace slowed as he went on the defense in increasingly bad light. He’d faced 211 pitches and hit 23 fours.
Bedingham, 29, has been playing English county cricket for Durham since 2020, and he was expected to try to qualify for England.
However, new South African Test coach Shukri Conrad called him up for the Test team, and he seemed at ease right away.
A tall right-hander, he entered his debut Test with a decent average of 49.51 from 86 first-class matches, 44 of which he played for Durham. In an 87-ball innings, he smashed seven fours and two sixes, helping Elgar add 131 for the fourth wicket.
South Africa amassed 145 runs for the loss of two wickets in 33 overs in an afternoon session that was extended to compensate for overs missed on the first day due to rain.
But India came back strongly after tea, with Siraj bowling Bedingham with a full delivery and debutant Prasidh Krishna claiming a first Test wicket when Kyle Verreynne flashed outside his off stump to be caught behind.
South Africa vs India, 1st Test, India tour of South Africa
South Africa *255/5 (65.3 ov)
India 245/10 (67.4 ov)
Day 2 – Session 3, South Africa lead by 10 runs
SCORECARD
Match Stats
India 1st Innings Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Rohit Sharma – 4.6 ov), 2-23 (Yashasvi Jaiswal – 9.4 ov), 3-24 (Shubman Gill – 11.1 ov), 4-92 (Shreyas Iyer – 26.6 ov), 5-107 (Virat Kohli – 30.6 ov), 6-121 (Ravichandran Ashwin – 34.6 ov), 7-164 (Shardul Thakur – 46.2 ov), 8-191 (Jasprit Bumrah – 54.3 ov), 9-238 (Mohammed Siraj – 65.1 ov), 10-245 (KL Rahul – 67.4 ov)
South Africa 1st Innings Fall of wickets: 1-11 (Aiden Markram – 3.5 ov), 2-104 (Tony de Zorzi – 28.6 ov), 3-113 (Keegan Petersen – 30.2 ov), 4-244 (David Bedingham – 60.1 ov), 5-249 (Kyle Verreynne – 61.5 ov)
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