IND vs SA: India No 1 but playing at home gives us upperhand, says Proteas captain Dean Elgar

South Africa Test captain Dean Elgar said that Proteas recognise visiting Indian team as World No 1 and the best side in the world but refused to give them the tag of favourites. 

Speaking to a group of journalists in Friday (December 24) Elgar said, "I think it is pretty evens stevens. Us playing at home gives us an upperhand. They are ranked No 1 in the world, we cannot not look at that. As a cricket watcher and fan, you cannot not give them the credit. I am not going to say they are not because the rankings do tell about the best team in the world. But that fact that we play in our backyard gives us an upperhand going into this series."

Elgar further said Proteas would like to stop Kohli and Co whose ambition is to continue win Test series overseas, especially in the SENA countries. 

India are coming to South Africa after series wins in Australia and have a 2-1 lead over England with one Test still to go in the series that will take place next year. 

He said, "They want to improve their record on the go. Virat Kohli has also mentioned earlier they want to do well abroad. They set for themselves that standard. I am mindful of that. But as captain of my team, I am going to try and prevent him from fulfilling that. That makes an exciting and extremely challenging series for both teams. We know they are going to come out firing but so would we."

The SA captain also said that visitors' strength lies in their bowling, which has done well overseas.

He said, "I would say their strength lies in their bowling. We are aware of that. Being in SA, the bowling attack will exploit conditions reasonably well." 

Maharaj to play at Centurion?

Speaking over the team combination, Elgar said that even at Centurion, it will be hard to drop spinner Keshav Maharaj. 

He said, "COVID has given us the luxury of an extended squad. You can tick all your boxes now. We have covered all our bases. The selection headache is a good headache to have. A lot of guys have played good cricket building up to the series. It is always a debate whether we can go with four or five pacers or if we are going to play spinner. I am still a fan of playing a spinner. Keshav (Maharaj) has done great job. I think he deserves his spot in the Test side." 

"Conditions have changed a little bit at Centurion. They have sometimes turned for spinners. Keshav has shown in the past he is not a container but a wicket taker. His strength now as a bowler, he can be a strike bowler for us," he added.