South Africa captain Dean Elgar explains why India were able to win 1st Test

Centurion: South Africa captain Dean Elgar said Indian openers KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal doing the fundamentals right was crucial for India winning the first Test at SuperSport Park here on Thursday. He added that his team were let down by the insipid performance from the batters.

“Indian openers did the fundamentals right. We didn’t quite execute the lengths well. After some good chats our bowlers executed the lengths and restricted India to what we thought was a par score,” said Elgar in the post-match presentation ceremony.

Talking about the difference between the two teams, Elgar remarked, “Our batters let us down. I’d say the batting was the difference between the two sides. We’ll have a little sit-down with myself and the management to strategise. Didn’t do a lot of wrong things. Not all doom and gloom for us. We strive under the pressure which is a positive for us.”

He was appreciative of his bowlers striving hard to take 20 wickets. “New ball is something you have to get through playing here. Can’t emphasise enough on the hard work our bowlers put in to get 20 wickets.”

The 34-year-old signed off by saying that it doesn’t feel nice to lose a Test match at Centurion. “Obviously not a nice thing knowing we lost a Test here. Did a few things wrong. A lot of positives coming out that we can use in the next two. Always the nature here. Always going to be tough because the wicket’s playing slower (first morning).”

(IANS)