When Dean Elgar approached the bowling crease for the 22nd over of Day-one in the Mohali Test, a lot of eyebrows rose in surprise. ‘Oh, he is bowling ahead of Imran Tahir!’ some said it out loud, some in their minds.
The first three deliveries – slow in the air, around off-stump – were negotiated. The fourth one – a flighted delivery on the off-stump from around the wicket, angling back into the right-hander – got everyone’s attention. South Africa’s part-time spinner had removed a well-set Cheteshwar Pujara (31) with what India’s batting coach, Sanjay Bangar described as “
the best delivery a left-arm spinner can bowl”.
After two more overs, Elgar was removed from the attack. When he returned, in the 38th over, he dismissed Ajinkya Rahane and Wriddhiman Saha off consecutive deliveries. Now even more people were surprised. Including Elgar himself. “I am a little bit surprised by the outcome – taking four wickets and bowling decently,” he said. “But I have always had the ability to do that. I am not just a batsman, not many people know it, but now they do. It is nice to contribute and bowl India out along with the other four bowlers.”
Elgar had six wickets in 17 Test matches before this. Bangar said he was discussed in the Team India camp as a bowler who bowled really slow through the air and that some Indian batsmen were deceived in the flight. Elgar believes he was successful in doing so because the batsmen tried hard not to get out to him.
“I think a lot of times when batsmen face me they don’t want to get out to me and become tentative, which works in my favour. Fortunately the wicket had broken up quite a bit and there was a rough created. I just tried to land the ball on that area. It worked out for me.”
After his heroics with the ball, Elgar had to come out to open the South African innings with the bat. And he got the taste of his own medicine. “It certainly wasn’t easy to bat out there,” he said. “We expected the ball to turn like that, but we didn’t think the wicket would crumble as much as it already has. It was hard work there.”
Elgar was unbeaten on 13 at Stumps on Day-one with his team 28 for 2. He knows that his real task still lies ahead of him. “The outfield is fast enough, but it is a little bit difficult to generate pace on the ball when you are batting, which is definitely going to be a challenge for us. It is going to be a hard draft and we knew that when we came to India. Now we have to really buckle down and sweat it out.”
