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Dean Elgar joins the 199 club

Dean Elgar's century celebrations were subdued AFP

Mudassar Nazar
The first entrant to the 199 club came after 995 Tests in a rather uninteresting match: the Test ended with Pakistan yet to finish their first innings. In reply to India's 500 all out, the hosts piled on 674 for 6. Nazar, who opened the innings, was caught behind off Shivlal Yadav; his team-mate Qasim Umar scored 210.

Mohammad Azharuddin
Another drawn Test in which the side batting second did not complete its first innings. This time India put on 676 for 7, after bowling out Sri Lanka for 420, the only Test innings in which three batsmen scored 150-plus scores without getting a double-century. Sunil Gavaskar got his final Test hundred, his 34th - Sachin Tendulkar broke that mark nearly 19 years later - while Kapil Dev and Azharuddin got their Test bests. Unfortunately for Azharuddin, he never got past 199 - he scored a 192 too - in his 22 Test hundreds, making him the batsman with most Test hundreds without scoring a double.

Matthew Elliott
The next 199 took a while, and it was the turn of Australian top-order batsman Elliott. Like Azharuddin, the 199 remained the highest of his career. It's the only 199 in an Ashes Test.

Sanath Jayasuriya
Wonder if Jayasuriya would have been too disappointed to be dismissed on 199: he came into the Test having already smashed 340 in the previous one. His 199 came off 226 balls - he was in contention to break the then record for the fastest double, off 220 balls by Ian Botham - and he is the only batsman to be dismissed on that score in a team's second innings.

Steve Waugh
A Test more famous for Brian Lara's heroics also had Steve Waugh scoring a 199 against an attack that had Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh. Waugh's only double-century - an even 200 - came against the same opposition in 1995, in a famous win that ended the era of West Indies' dominance.

Andy Flower
The first batsman to be unbeaten on 199 in a Test innings. Andy Flower had already made a 142 as Zimbabwe slumped to 286 all out in reply to South Africa's 600 for 3 declared, and he outdid it in the follow-on. He was able to make South Africa bat again, but he did not get enough support to put up a competitive total, and to get his double-hundred. Flower had one double in his Test career, which came before his 199 not out.

Younis Khan
Younis Khan's first double-century had come in his previous Test against India the previous year, and he looked set to get his second in succession. On a flat track, there was not much hope for the bowlers - there were six hundreds in the Test, and four in Pakistan's innings - but Younis managed to get run out on 199, the only one to do so. When Younis went past 199 again, in 2009, he scored 313.

Ian Bell
While Younis was the only to be run out, Bell remains the only one to be out caught and bowled. Coincidentally, his and Younis' 199 required the same number of deliveries. Bell was dismissed trying to play a booming drive off left-arm spinner Paul Harris, only to end up caught by the bowler. Bell got his maiden Test double three years later.

Kumar Sangakkara
Sangakkara ended up stranded on 199 like Flower. During the innings, Sangakkara thought he had got to his double-hundred with a six: he celebrated before it was pointed out that the scoreboard on the ground was showing an extra run. That run was not to be, and his partner at the other end was dismissed in the next over. Sangakkara had the most double-centuries (eight) before getting a 199, and like Younis he got a triple ton the next time he went past 199.

Steven Smith
Smith missed out on a maiden first-class double-century after being beaten by a superb inswinging yorker by West Indies' Jerome Taylor. But he got there a month later, with a 215 against England, becoming the first Australian in 77 years to score a double at Lord's.

KL Rahul
On a flat pitch in Chennai, Rahul got into the 190s with a six off Moeen Ali. Minutes later his innings ended in heartbreak, with an innocuous delivery from Adil Rashid lobbed straight to point. Going by Rahul's track record - out of his five 50-plus scores, four have been hundreds, with two being 150-plus - there's a good chance he will join the 200-club, instead of giving Azharuddin and Elliott company in the list of players with a Test best of 199.

Dean Elgar

After Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim surprisingly chose to bowl first on a flat deck in Potchefstroom, Dean Elgar cashed in, building big partnerships with debutant Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla. South Africa cruised to 445 for 2 and Elgar reached 199. Mustafizur Rahman then foxed Elgar with a cutter, leaving him in two minds about whether to pull or leave the ball. A top edge ended his 388-ball stay, making him the first South African to join the 199 club.

Article updated on September 29, 2017, to include Dean Elgar's innings.