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There are two distinct categories of batsmen in the world. There’s the superstar, stroke-making kind who drops jaws with his audacity and there’s the stoic bore of a batsman who barely looks like he’s surviving; as though he were a misfit thrust into the world of cricket. Elgar finally made it to the national squad for the Sri Lanka series in 2012 but continued to be on the wrong side of fate as he was withdrawn at the last moment due to injury. More bad luck followed as his ODI debut was marred by rain. Despite getting some chances subsequently, he did not fit into the one-day fold due to his rather low strike-rate and classical mould. He was handed a chance in Tests too, later that year in the world’s toughest backyard - Australia. He had a mediocre outing, and reached a new low when he bagged a pair in his third Test. Slightly shorter in stature than Smith, Elgar has a similar closed batted technique, even whilst playing through the off-side. He has the necessary fundamentals of opening the batting including playing late, a solid defence, excellent off-stump awareness, and most important, the virtue of not trusting the ball and the pitch. The first time he opened the innings, Elgar scored a gritty 103 against Sri Lanka in the searing heat on a Galle dust-bowl. The runs continued to flow, as he continued to play a the resistance knocks almost every time the team was in a crisis in a Test. He had established himself as the batting mainstay of the South African side, and getting 'ugly runs', to pave the way and get the ball old before the stars like AB and Amla could pile on the runs. Elgar’s batting showed defiance even on the 2015 tour of India which featured some of the most ridiculously deteriorated surfaces in living memory. In fact, Elgar seemed to revel in pressure situations, even showcasing his prowess with his left-arm spin, scalping 4 wickets in the Mohali Test. His is a wicket that the opposition has to work extremely hard for and once set, he is in for the long-haul and remains a pillar for the middle-order to bat around. Similarly, after having clawed his way to the top, Elgar is here to stay. An indispensable part of the South African line-up playing in a steady, stable fashion and fitting himself into the ugly-yet-reliable opener’s mould - in other words, the modern rebel.
