Man-of-the-moment Dean Elgar and Jansen give SA control over India in Centurion

Dean Elgar’s majestic batting marathon was ended 25 minutes before lunch, but the nuggety opener, who will retire from Test cricket at the end of this series with India, has given South Africa firm control of this opening match.

Elgar made 185, his second highest Test score, before he was dismissed, gloving a short ball from Shardul Thakur down the leg side.

However, he’s been the major role player in giving SA a lead of substance at lunch, with the Proteas at 392/7, their lead over India at 147 runs.

The standing ovation from a good third day crowd was richly deserved, with Elgar acknowledging all corners of his home venue.

It was his first Test 100 here, which he admitted at the end of the second day’s play was the reason for his animated celebration upon reaching the three-figure landmark on Wednesday.

He has also now scored at each of the venues in SA where he has played a Test match.

This performance will live long in his memory.

Thursday dawned brightly, with play able to start at the scheduled 10am for the first time in the match.

The ball continued to play tricks off the surface with Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Siraj able to get even a 70-over old ball to jag off the pitch past the outside edge, while the inconsistent bounce had Elgar troubled occasionally, especially one from Siraj that kept low.

With him, Marco Jansen looked increasingly confident as he notched up a second Test 50, which he turned into a highest score in this format by the interval of 72 not out.

His driving was impressive, especially through the cover region, while his defence was also rock solid.

India had many moments: balls from Bumrah and Siraj beat the outside edge, while Ravi Ashwin found the edge of Jansen’s bat, but KL Rahul couldn’t react quickly enough to take the chance.

Jansen and Elgar added 111 runs for the sixth wicket, before Elgar’s innings was ended by Thakur.

Twice in Elgar’s innings, once on Wednesday and then on Thursday morning, he had gloved a short ball in the gap between the wicketkeeper and slip for four, and on a third occasion, the ball glanced the glove, giving Rahul an easy catch.

Gerald Coetzee swung lustily for his 19 off 18 balls, until trying his luck one too many times and lifting Ashwin to Siraj at mid-off.

Jansen’s innings has already lasted 120 balls and included nine fours and a six, and with the pitch continuing to show signs of inconsistency, any runs SA can eke out of the last few wickets will prove invaluable.

There was still no sign of whether skipper Temba Bavuma, who is undergoing treatment for a hamstring strain will bat, but it might be worth the risk given that batting will only get harder as the match unfolds.