South African skipper Dean Elgar was at a loss of words to explain the dramatic events of the opening day in the second and final Test against India at Newlands, Cape Town.
The Proteas trail the tourists by 36 runs in their second innings with seven wickets in hand after they were bowled out for a paltry 55 in the very first session of the Test match.
However, Elgar feels South Africa will fancy their chances of victory if they can set India a target of 100 or more in the fourth innings.
“I would take 100 (victory target) all day,” Elgar told reporters after the close of play on Day 1. “When our bowlers click they can rip through any batting lineup and on this wicket that is possible.”
In his farewell Test match, Elgar registered scores of 4 and 12 after winning the toss and opting to bat on what he knew would be a tricky surface.
“I didn’t know it would play in that way though, with the naked eye it did not look so bad,” the southpaw said. “But it’s one of those wickets where if you knuckle down, you never know what can happen.
“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.”
At 153/4, India seemed in control of the Test until Lundi Ngidi removed KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah in an exceptional triple-wicket over.
Kagiso Rabada then took the prized scalp of Virat Kohli in the subsequent over, shattering India's hopes of a fightback. Within moments, Mohammed Siraj's run-out followed and Krishna's dismissal off the next delivery folded India's innings at 153 in 33.5 overs.
This was the first time in Test cricket history that a team lost its final six wickets for the addition of no runs. The dramatic collapse restricted India’s first-innings lead to 98 runs.
“The older ball was still doing something. We’ve just experienced a really crazy day of test cricket,” Elgar said, before lauding his players for not dropping their heads after what happened in the morning session.
“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.”
Asked if he would change his decision to bat first, Elgar said: “I would still stick to batting first after seeing how the wicket has played.”
(With Reuters Inputs)
