Faf du Plessis appreciates Dean Elgar's gritty century in the 4th innings at The Oval

South African opener Dean Elgar’s gritty 136 in the last innings of The Oval Test saw him bat for over five and half hours was a valiant attempt to keep his team’s hope alive in the game, but sadly, it went in vain. He was one the three batsmen dismissed by Moeen Ali to complete his hat-trick. Elgar was the lone batsman to keep fighting and not give up. His century was also the first in the last 11 innings.

This 30-year-old had exhibited a fighting spirit that is the trademark of South African cricket. The innings came when he was struggling from pain in his index finger. Skipper Faf du Plessis feels that his team should take a lesson from Dean’s century. He acknowledged the fact that his hundred came under immense pressure, something that is not everyone’s cup of tea.

“It’s never easy, it’s about applying yourself, absorbing a lot of pressure, even at times when it’s really uncomfortable like Dean showed. If you get through it you will get an opportunity to get runs and put the team under pressure, he did that today,” du Plessis said after the end of the 2nd Test. “It’s good from a unit point of view that he did it today and we will try to make sure that we can do exactly what he did in the last Test,” he added.

Confirmed availability for final Test

However, despite several blows on his finger, Elgar confirmed that he will be playing the fourth and final Test at Manchester’s Old Trafford.

“I’m still ready to play the next game. It’s part of the game, you have to roll with the punches and take the blows when they come your way. I prefer not getting hit. It puts me in a different mind-set, like the challenge is a little bit more. I guess only an opening batsman could see it that way. You have to look at the bigger picture and that’s to try and contribute in a big way,” he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.