WI vs SA | Definitely expect Windies to bounce back in second Test, admits Dean Elgar

After suffering a thumping loss in the first Test at the hands of South Africa, the Kraigg Brathwaite-led West Indies will aim to level the series in the second Test starting on Friday at Gros Islet, St Lucia. 

Stellar performances with the ball from Lungi Ngidi, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje helped South Africa to run through the West Indies batting and take a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series. 

On the eve of the match, South Africa skipper Dean Elgar expected the hosts to make a resilient comeback in the final game against his side, citing the example of his experience of watching home teams making comebacks after suffering defeats. 

“I’ve been around long enough to know how teams bounce back when you come to their home country and they get a beating. I know what they are going to respond with,” Elgar said.“I definitely expect them to bounce back, they will come back with a plan,” he added. 

South Africa have collapsed in international cricket since the retirement of senior players like AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, and they were ranked seventh in the inaugural World Test Championship with 144 points where they could manage only three wins from their 11 games. 

Talking about his team’s chances to win the series, Elgar said that a victory will be a step in the right direction.

“One Test win has gone such a long way for us already and we realise, another Test win will take us further as a unit,” the skipper said. 

There have been rains in St Lucia for the past few days and the weather forecast shows the second Test is likely to be interrupted by rainfall. Elgar expressed his desire to bat first if they win the toss, labeling himself a ‘bat first’ guy.

“I’m generally a bat first kind of guy, because you don’t win the game on the first day, you kind of win the game on day four or five,” he said.