SA vs IND: Virat Kohli asks team to not celebrate Dean Elgar's wicket, gestures them to bow down

The Day 1 of the second Test between South Africa and India played at Newlands, Cape Town on Wednesday, January 03 turned out to be an enthralling affair as a total of 23 wickets fell in the day. After winning the toss and opting to bat first, South Africa were bundled out for just 55 as Mohammed Siraj registered his best Test figures (6/15).

In reply, India were bundled out for 153 losing their last six wickets without scoring a single run. Amid all the drama that unfolded on the opening day, a heartwarming moment was also witnessed on the pitch as star India batter Virat Kohli asked all the players to bow down to Dean Elgar after he got dismissed playing the final Test of his career.

Also Read: SA vs IND: Virat Kohli's masterplan to dismiss Jansen, helps Siraj complete five-for on Day 1

The incident took place in the 11^th over of South Africa’s second innings as Mukesh Kumar made Elgar edge one straight to Kohli at first slip. After taking the catch, the former India captain was seen signalling towards the Indian dressing room to bow down to Elgar to pay tribute to him for a fantastic Test career.

Kohli even walked up to the South African captain and gave him a warm hug while other Indian players such as Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit Sharma and others patted his back and shook hands with him. The entire stadium rose up to give a rousing reception to Elgar who’s playing his 86^th Test for South Africa. The Indian support staff including head coach Rahul Dravid also paid respect to Elgar as he took his final walk of his career back to the pavilion.

Watch the incident here:

Dean Elgar finished his career as 8th-highest run scorer for South Africa

Notably, Elgar scored 5347 runs (8th highest for SA) in 86 Tests at an average of 37.92 with 14 hundreds and 23 fifties to his name. He scored 1012 runs against India from 15 Tests at an average of 40.48 with two hundreds and four fifties. 

Also Read: 'Way higher than what Ash did to you' - Kohli reminds Elgar of controversial LBW review from 2022

The 36-year-old has so far led his nation in 17 Tests (excluding the ongoing Test) and won nine out of those while losing seven with one match ending in a draw.  Meanwhile, South Africa finished Day 1 on 62/3 trailing India by 36 runs with Aiden Markram (36*) and David Bedingham (7*) at the crease.