On Monday, South African Test skipper Dean Elgar reached the milestone of 5,000 runs scored in Test cricket. The milestone was achieved by the hitter while his team was competing against Australia in the second Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Elgar got out after scoring 26 runs off 68 balls in the first innings of the match. He had two boundaries during his batting stint. At this point, Elgar has scored 5,002 runs across 81 tests and 142 innings, averaging 38.18 runs per innings. He has scored 13 hundreds and 22 half-centuries in test matches.
Elgar now sits in ninth place on South Africa’s all-time list for run scorers in Tests. Jacques Kallis, an all-rounder for the Proteas, has scored 13,206 runs in 165 tests at an average of 55.25, becoming him the team’s all-time leader in Test run scoring.
He has achieved 224, his highest possible score, in addition to 45 centuries and 58 half-centuries.
Following him are Hashim Amla (9,282), Graeme Smith (9,253), AB de Villiers (8,765), Gary Kirsten (7,289), Herschelle Gibbs (6,167) and Mark Boucher (5,498).
Cameron Green, an all-rounder for Australia, came into the match and took a career-best five wickets for twenty-seven runs. Australia then proceeded to rip through South Africa’s shaky batting before piling on late runs to seize control of the second test match, which was played in Melbourne on Monday.
After the tourists were bowled out for 189, an aggressive David Warner, who was playing in his 100th Test, was unbeaten on 32 and Marnus Labuschagne was not out on five to take the hosts to 45-1 at stumps on day one of the match.
On a hostile and green Gabba track in Brisbane last week, the first of three Tests between Australia and India was won by Australia by six wickets inside of two days.