CHENNAI: You are Dean Elgar — a 36-year-old opening batter from South Africa which offer one of the toughest conditions to play. You have played for your country for about 11 years, in the longest format. Your Test average is a tad below 40, which isn't the gold standard in an all-time list. However, at your home, where the collective average of openers since your debut is 32.37, yours is 15 more (47.81). As a captain, your record might take a dip, but the last time (2021-22) India toured your country, you rose to the occasion to register a coming-from-behind series victory.
Two years on, India are back on your shores. You are not a captain anymore and have decided to call it a day — a farewell series at home against an opponent you have dearly frustrated on the field. For most players, it could not get better, but you are not most players. You are Dean Elgar, and hence it does. After the hosts were dismissed for 245 — shortly after KL Rahul reached his hundred (101) — Elgar would come out, frustrate the life of Indian pacemen, pile on runs with a splendid century (140 batting), arguably one of his best, and help South Africa secure first inning lead (265/5).
How did he do it — by sticking to what he does the best. He would take guard on middle-stump with a high backlift — the edge of the bat almost parallel to his stance — and crouch a little just as the pacer comes closer to popping crease, a forward press followed by the bat coming down inside the line of the delivery. If a right-arm pacer is angling it across from over the wicket, like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj did on Wednesday, more often than not it would be a play and miss. He would do the same when they came around the wicket, trying to square him up.
From the outset, it would seem like the bowlers are on top of him. But, that is not the case. Elgar knows exactly what he is doing. For a heavily forehanded batter — one can notice him taking the bottom hand off the handle almost every time he defends just to make a soft impact — Elgar has his eyes on the ball to the extent where most of the plays and misses are him pulling the bat inside at the last moment. If it's banged in short, he would be hopping back, facing the ball while in air, and playing it down with his forehand.
Such is his technique that it would look awkward to the eyes, but very effective. He would nudge, defend, get beaten, edge one past gully or fall short to second slip for the most part. And then suddenly, out comes the fore-handed cover drive, the face of his bat would close in when he makes contact, with the ball racing to the ropes. A textbook punch down the ground would be followed by a fore-handed pull — often in front of square with the bat tilting upwards. And he would do it all over again.
It would seem like he is scratching his way through every run, but by the day comes to an end — as it did when bad light stopped play at Centurion — he would have scored a century. The celebration — he jumped, punched the air in delight, acknowledged the applause — and the aftermath on Wednesday told the story. He was back at the crease, taking guard, doing it all over again from the beginning. Because he is Dean Elgar — one of the best Test openers South Africa has ever seen.