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Former cricketer Aakash Chopra heaped praise on South African batter Dean Elgar for his "outstanding" performance in the first Test match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday.
Speaking on JioCinema's daily sports show '#AAKASHVANI', Chopra said that Rohit Sharma's side can still level the series against South Africa. "We have not been able to conquer the 'Final Frontier' once again. It's possible that we may still level the series, but a win is out of the question now. We should change the name of the 'Final Frontier' to Dean Elgar. If I remember correctly, he was the one who helped South Africa win the Test series the last time round. He was absolutely outstanding in this Test too," Chopra said. Speaking on India's approach to the first Test match, he added that if the visitors lose the series against the Proteas then it will be "humbling". He added that no other Indian batters were convincing in the Test match except for KL Rahul's first inning and Virat Kohli's second-inning knock. Chopra criticized Shreyas Iyer and Yashasvi Jaiswal's performance and said that they did not look good. "When the third day's play began, I felt there was a realistic chance of an Indian fightback. But that did not happen. An innings defeat is quite humbling. Except for (KL) Rahul in the first innings and (Virat) Kohli in the second, the others did not look convincing. No one looked like willing to play ugly, take body blows and stick around. Rohit Sharma was out to (Kagiso) Rabada in both innings. Yashasvi Jaiswal is still far from figuring out these conditions. Shreyas Iyer didn't look good. India needed to bat four-five sessions which did not happen," he added. The match completely dominated by South Africa. Rabada's five-wicket haul put India on the back foot. KL Rahul played a counter-attacking knock of 101 but it was soon overshadowed by Elgar's breathtaking 185. On Day 3, Nandre Burger with his lethal bouncers and precise line and length pushed India's batters back against the wall. A game that seemed to be headed for the fourth day was concluded on the third day itself. India batters were no match for South Africa pacers as the pace trio of Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Burger ran through India's entire batting line-up. After a dismal start to their second innings, South Africa struck India hard by removing Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in quick succession. After Burger removed Ravichandran Ashwin for a golden duck, India's fate was more or less sealed. Jasprit Bumrah's runout following a brilliant effort in the field by Dean Elgar caused a mood of dismay. A brilliant review from the South Africa team saw Mohammed Siraj gloving the ball straight to the wicketkeeper. Prasidh Krishna struggled hard but Jansen got the better of Kohli (76) which brought an end to India's struggle within the first three days. (ANI)
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