An excited Dean Elgar said that he ‘couldn’t be pleased of his team after South Africa win against India by 7-wickets today in the 3rd and final Test at Newlands, Cape Town to claim a 2-1 series success.
Having lost the series-opening player, South Africa returned strong with great bowling performances in the next 2-tests and two back-to-back 4th-innings pursuits.
SOUTH AFRICA WIN! 🇿🇦
The Proteas beat India by 7️⃣ wickets in the final Test and win the three-match series 2️⃣-1️⃣ 👏#India #SouthAfrica #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/pM4kMK0hor
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) January 14, 2022
Discuss at the post-match display, the South African captain said:
“I’m pretty pleased; I think it will sink in a day or two, maybe this evening. I couldn’t be prouder of the group. We were thrown under the sword quite a few times this series, and the guys responded brilliantly.”
Talking about how South Africa responded after defeat in the first Test, Dean Elgar added:
“After the first loss, we had a lot of hope knowing we can still win this. I asked the players to respond in a better nature, the better way, and they responded brilliantly. I’m extremely happy.”
After being 1️⃣-0️⃣ down, South Africa played brilliantly and bounced back to clinch the series 2️⃣-1️⃣ 🙌#India #SouthAfrica #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/1mUzx0pFW6
— Sportskeeda (@Sportskeeda) January 14, 2022
The captain discussed how he challenged the players to rise to the opportunity, and they did. Elgar said:
“The way our bowling unit delivered throughout the series is brilliant. I threw down the challenge after the first game, and the guys responded brilliantly.”
“It supports to have a team that doesn’t have big names” – Dean Elgar
South Africa came into this series with various stars’ performers retiring in recent times. Wicketkeeper-batter Quinton de Kock also stated his retirement from Test cricket after the primary match of the series.
Dean Elgar, although, said that having a team without big names was a blessing in the cover-up as all the performers rallied around each other and performed as a unit. Elgar said:
“It helps to have a group that doesn’t have any real big names; they like to rally together and play as one. And that’s crucial. I’m extremely proud of this group of players that we have here.”
He went on to say:
“Ultimately, if you want to operate at our performance levels, you need tough chats, and I’m a bit of old-school mentality with a new-school twist. I laid a few challenges, even to some of the senior players as well. It was great to see the guys take my message on board.”
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