South African batting consultant Justin Sammons lauded skipper Dean Elgar’s competitiveness, saying that he will hold the key for them to get over the line against India in the ongoing second Test in Johannesburg.
The ongoing second Test between South Africa and India in Johannesburg is evenly poised at stumps on Day 3. After the hosts bowled out India for 266 runs in their second innings, setting themselves a target of 240 runs, they looked positive and showed great intent.
Even though they lost Aiden Markram for 31 runs and Keegan Petersen for 28 runs, skipper Dean Elgar showed great resilience and took some blows on his body but stood tall like a rock for his side and along with Rassie van der Dussen made sure that his side doesn’t lose any more wickets on Day 3.
Read Also: ‘Learn to take it kid’, Steyn advises Bumrah after latter’s heated confrontation with Marco Jansen
Elgar played an unbeaten knock of 46 runs and took his side a step closer to victory as South Africa ended Day 3 at 118/2 and are just 122 runs behind to win the match and level the series 1-1.
Addressing media at the end of Day 3, South African batting consultant Justin Sammons hailed Skipper Dean Elgar as a competitor and said that his role will be massively important heading into Day 4.
He added that having someone of Elgar’s character for the players coming to bat in will be important and his leadership will play a major role in taking his side home.
"He's a competitor. The thing he loves about the game is the competitiveness. The competitive nature of Test cricket brings the best out of him. His role will be massively important. Having somebody there to bat for the rest of the innings would be the key.
Just having someone with his character for the guys coming in to be, I think it's massively important. His leadership goes a long way in getting us over the line tomorrow,” Justin Sammons said.
Sammons advised South African batters to assess the morning conditions on Day 4 and be adaptive. He stressed that his side need to play the first hour well and then play according to the situation.
He admitted that chasing 122 more runs wouldn’t be easy as Indian bowlers are relentless but his side believes that they can chase the target if they bat as they did in the last session of Day 3.
"The message for the guys coming in would be to see how the morning plays out and we just have to be adaptive. We need to get through the first hour and play according to the situation. It's been an interesting wicket, not the easiest deck to bat on.
"It goes without saying, the task is not going to be easy. The Indian attack has been relentless. But we believe, we can chase it down. The way we batted this afternoon, it's case of point there,” he said.
Read Also: WATCH- Jasprit Bumrah and Marco Jansen square up in middle of the pitch after argument
Simmons talked about the pre-series preparations to get the players back in touch with the basics. He said the dressing room had lengthy discussions about losing any tentativeness, adding that results are there for everyone to see.
"The basics of Test cricket is about leaving the ball well and ultimately it boils down to know where your off stump is. Having not played a lot of red-ball cricket played a part. So we had to make sure that the guys are in touch with the game. It's about the need for being decisive.
“It's something that we discussed at length. We had to come out of any sort of tentativeness. It's always easier said than done. The guys have come out and showed positive intent and it's there to see how they have gone about it," he said.
(PTI inputs)
