Ken Borland

There is little chance of Dean Elgar leaving the Proteas to become a T20 mercenary because his white-ball ability is, frankly, under-rated, but the nuggety left-hander is surely worth his weight in gold to the South African Test team.

Since making his debut in Perth at the end of 2012, and bagging a pair, Elgar has worked his way into the hearts of Proteas Test fans and is now the captain tasked with rebuilding the team to the sort of former glories they were in when he was first chosen.

For someone with such tenacity and bounce-back-ability – the tougher the situation the better Elgar seems to bat – it was perhaps fitting that his Test career should start with two ducks against the fearsome Mitchell Johnson.

Elgar certainly leads from the front on the field, putting his body on the line and valuing his wicket as greatly as anyone. But it is off the field where it seems he is also having a major impact. Never afraid to speak his mind, the 34-year-old is a no-nonsense cricketer, he plays the game hard and he expects his team-mates to do so too. Soft excuses are not tolerated and he is gradually dragging the best out of a Test team that has been gutted, in the years since he made his debut, by the retirements of Smith, Amla, Kallis, De Villiers, Du Plessis, Philander, Steyn and Morkel.

Test cricket is far from the sanitary, gentlemanly environment of the past and the second Test between South Africa and India at the Wanderers was a spicy affair. Stung by their poor performance in the first Test, it was good to see the Proteas willing to fight fire with fire. There was no standing back against the world’s No.1-ranked side.

That willingness to fight was shown by rookie Marco Jansen not backing off against Jasprit Bumrah; by Rassie van der Dussen, who put a difficult time behind him and also withstood the verbal volleys of wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, the man who dismissed him in the first innings when he claimed a catch on the bounce. Temba Bavuma was a cool head in the tense closing stages and refused to be rushed at the crease by the Indian bowlers running in before he was ready.

With Elgar fighting so hard at the other end, it was easy to see why his team-mates were inspired.

It has been a disappointing last year for the South African batting line-up as a whole, but there are runs to be had in the third Test starting at Newlands on Tuesday, with the pitch expected to be the best for batting the Proteas would have experienced for a long while.

There are still question marks over Aiden Markram and fans of Kyle Verreynne are expectant that he will soon make a Test score to match the three ODI half-centuries he has already scored.

But Bavuma and Elgar look in fine fettle, Van der Dussen and Keegan Petersen have the confidence of scores to their name, and the bowlers are a potent unit when they fire together.

You can forgive the Proteas misreading the Wanderers pitch and playing Keshav Maharaj, who only ended up bowling two overs in the match. He is bound to have a much greater role in Cape Town and we may even see him bowling alongside another left-arm spinner in George Linde.

Batting at No.7 still seems a slot too high for the talented Jansen and Linde has similar all-round credentials to Wiaan Mulder, so if conditions suit he could be in line for his fourth Test cap and first at home.

For now, a magnificent effort by the Proteas deserves to be celebrated while the anticipation builds for the decider at Newlands.

Dean Elgar underlined his value as a captain who not only leads from the front but demands the best from his players as he led South Africa to a remarkable seven-wicket win over India at the Wanderers on Thursday.

Elgar’s pride, bravery and determination were on full public display for over five hours in the second innings as his great innings of 96 not out ushered the Proteas to their target of 240 on a rapidly deteriorating pitch, the sixth highest run-chase in South Africa’s Test history, and coming against an attack many consider to be the best in the world.

But what was not revealed until after the game was Elgar’s courage in confronting his players, even someone like Kagiso Rabada, South Africa’s one unarguably world-class performer and almost akin to royal game in these sensitive days when the national coach is in the firing line for saying the wrong things when he was a player.

Elgar pressed his premier strike bowler’s buttons when he told him his performance was not up to scratch. Rabada might not have been enraged, but he responded with a rampant burst of three wickets in three overs on the third day that brought South Africa roaring back into the game.

“I don’t play for personal accolades, it’s always team over my own performance for me, but it does feel nice to contribute in a big way,” Elgar said after his heroic, series-levelling innings.

“My goal is always to influence the environment and lead from the front. It makes it easier then for the others in the changeroom to trust what you’re saying. It was more tough love than a rocket when I went to KG.

“I told him that he is immensely respected, but he was not conducting himself very well in terms of performance – he’s an incredible bowler when his tail is up. And he responds well to those chats, he goes away and thinks about it.

“He undersells his value in the team a bit, maybe he’s a bit too relaxed, but his contribution to the team is huge. The whole side was pushed to different levels and they responded brilliantly to certain requests I made,” Elgar said.

The captain himself may not be one of the most dazzling of batsmen, but he is certainly amongst the most trustworthy in the game when it comes to digging in and putting his body on the line.

“It’s a Test win for South Africa first and foremost, the team has fought long and hard for this sort of victory,” Elgar said. “I wasn’t looking at the end result today, I knew we had to start well in the first half-hour.

“We had to respect their areas but capitalise if there were loose deliveries, and we earned a few balls to put away. It didn’t feel like we had a lot to gain this afternoon, we might have lost four wickets and then we’d be in big trouble.

“But I said to myself that I had to be there at the end as a senior batsman and the captain. I’m glad it finished today because it was highly stressful and intense, you don’t expect anything else against India.

“They should stop hitting me now because I don’t get out! I draw on that pain, some call it stupid, some call it brave. But if I put my body on the line then others can be expected to do it too,” Elgar said.

Captain Dean Elgar, with the help of Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma, tamed a wretch of a Wanderers pitch as he led South Africa to a remarkable seven-wicket win in the second Test against India on Thursday.

Chasing a daunting target of 240 on a deteriorating pitch, opening batsman Elgar shepherded his team to victory with 96 not out, a magnificent display of patience, composure and ability to absorb pressure.

South Africa had to not only deal with a top-class attack on a pitch offering variable bounce and movement off the surface, but also the agony of having to wait until 3.45pm before they could resume their innings on 118/2. It had rained for most of the day at the Wanderers, sprucing up the pitch and also ensuring that the Proteas had to bat under completely overcast skies.

But the lengthy delay seemed to affect India’s focus more than South Africa’s. The Indian bowlers were poor on the fourth afternoon and they just could not bowl the number of deliveries in the right areas in order to create the wicket-taking opportunities that were undoubtedly there.

Elgar and Van der Dussen showed tremendous judgement and positivity as they added 57 runs in 14 overs on Thursday afternoon. Van der Dussen, considering the worries over his form, showed great temperament as he made a vital 40 off 92 balls in just over two hours at the crease.

Van der Dussen eventually fell to the sort of delivery everyone was warning about on this wearing pitch – back-of-a-length, rising sharply and jagging away – and try as he might to keep it down he could not help but send a low catch to second slip.

He left the scene with 65 more runs needed and vice-captain Bavuma then joined his skipper, a partnership that was always going to provide much grit and plenty of composure.

Failure has no parents, but perhaps the pivotal moment in South Africa’s highest ever fourth-innings run-chase at the Wanderers, and their sixth best in Test history, came when Bavuma, yet to get off the mark, drove firmly at Shardul Thakur, popping up a return catch. The bowler had it in his right hand, briefly juggled, and then the ball popped out.

Victory then came with astonishing ease and Elgar and Bavuma (23*) added 68 in little more than an hour, needing just 85 deliveries to finish a job most expected to be beyond this Proteas batting line-up.

The South African team can be immensely proud of how they stayed in the contest and, when conditions were at their toughest, they prevailed.

Young pup Marco Jansen earned praise from Justin Sammons for standing up to Jasprit Bumrah on Wednesday and now the Proteas batting consultant is hopeful his remaining batsmen will show similar character in scoring the remaining 122 runs South Africa need for a remarkable win over India in the second Test at the Wanderers.

The Proteas ended the third day on 118/2, chasing 240 for victory, and went toe-to-toe with a feisty Indian team that is desperate to win their first series in South Africa.

The battle was at its most tense when left-arm quick Jansen was bowling a stream of short-pitched deliveries at fast bowler Bumrah, his Mumbai Indians team-mate, who was generally swinging and missing. But after being struck on the body, Bumrah advanced angrily down the pitch and gestured at Jansen to say what he had to say right to his face.

The 21-year-old took up the invitation and umpire Marais Erasmus quickly inserted himself between the two combatants.

“It was pleasing to see the young guy stand up for himself and his team-mates,” Sammons said. “He showed that he is in it for the team, that’s Marco, a real team man.

“It goes without saying that it’s not going to be an easy task against a pretty relentless attack, but we still believe we can win this Test. We need to stick to our plans, keep doing what we know brings us the best chance of success.

“Being decisive is a key aspect, but it’s not about playing every shot. You need that element of discipline, balanced with a positive mindset and being able to dominate balls in our areas.

“The basics must come first: Knowing where the off-stump is, leaving well, and in defence playing nice and late with good bat angles. Anything tentative will land the batsman in trouble,” Sammons said.

It’s the sort of batting exemplified by captain Dean Elgar, the opening batsman surviving for three hours up to stumps, scoring a doughty 46 not out that was garnished with just two boundaries. Aiden Markram (31) and Keegan Petersen (28) both played more strokes, but both were out lbw and will play no further part in the chase.

“It’s massively important to have someone like Dean there, to have someone bat through and allow partnerships to form around him,” Sammons said. “His leadership will go a long way to getting us over the line.

“Dean is definitely a tough cookie, a competitor. The competitiveness is what he loves about Test cricket, it brings out the best in him.”

Elgar will certainly be up for the fight on Thursday morning, he will be ready to bleed for the cause. The big question is whether the rest of the batsmen will be too.