"This is my World Cup": Dean Elgar speaks ahead of South Africa-India 2nd Test match

Cape Town [South Africa]: Ahead of the second Test match between India and South Africa in Cape Town on Wednesday, Proteas skipper Dean Elgar said that winning his last international match is like a World Cup victory.

While speaking at the pre-match press conference, Elgar said that he does not care about stats and that winning the game is his main priority.

"I only play the game to win. I don't care about stats. I care about wins. I care about series wins. That's the greatest memory you can ever share with your team, everyone that has got an influential role in the background. Test series wins - you don't top that. Maybe a World Cup win is up there. I have never had that opportunity but this is my World Cup. This is my arena where I want to win," Dean Elgar was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.

When asked about leading the Proteas in his last match, the 36-year-old added that he gives his 100 per cent whether he is playing or captaining.

"I don't think you get a bigger accolade or bigger credit than to be asked to captain. I did it in the past for a year-and-a-half or whatever it was and it has been the best learning experience for me as an individual - not just from a cricketing point of view but off-field stuff. I give my 100% whether I am playing or captaining and I am going to have that mentality going into this game. For me, it's about showing the right ways for the younger players and hopefully that catches on," he added.

Cricket South Africa confirmed on Thursday that Temba Bavuma was injured during fielding on Day 1 of the first Test match and did not return to the game after scans confirmed a hamstring strain. In his absence, Elgar will captain the team in the final match of his international career, after announcing his intention to retire before the series.

The left-handed batter added that the Proteas are lucky that they can't lose the series now. However, he further added that drawing the two-match series against India is "big as a loss".

"We are in a fortunate position knowing that we can't lose the series but drawing is maybe as big as a loss for us. It's a massive Test for us, being our highlighted Test of the year. The New Year's Test at Newlands, they don't get much bigger and better, against really tough opposition.

Playing the New Year's Test is big for guys and they are going to have a lot of firsts so we want them to just live in that moment but be mindful of the opportunity of winning 2-nil. Drawing the series is not something we are thinking about at all," he added.

South Africa squad for the second Test: Dean Elgar (C), David Bedingham, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, and Kyle Verreynne. (ANI)