South Africa’s left-arm spinner, Keshav Maharaj, was on fire with the ball in his hand, during the team’s two-match Test series in the West Indies, as they earned another series victory in the Caribbean, thanks to the 40-run victory during the second of the two-match series at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
Winning the toss, the visiting captain, Temba Bavuma, decided to bat first on a track that looked quite dry and was expected to get slow as the game progressed in the later half of the game. But they didn’t enjoy a great time in the middle, losing four wickets in the very first session.
The wicket kept on crumbling as the fire of Shamar Joseph was too hard to handle for the Proteas. Keshav Maharaj marked his second consecutive duck in the series, as they found themselves nine down at a score of only 97. However, an inspiring partnership of 63 runs for the last wicket pushed the Rainbow Nation to 160.
Keshav Maharaj becomes South Africa’s most successful spinner in Tests
The hosts also weren’t able to come up with an answer with the bat in hand. At the score of 56 with six wickets down, West Indies was on the verge of conceding a huge lead to the tourists before their former captain and a veteran all-rounder of the side, Jason Holder, showed his batting class with an unbeaten knock of 54 runs.
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The homeboy, Joseph, also cracked a vital knock of 25 runs during their last wicket partnership of 40 runs to get bundled out for just 144. Keshav Maharaj was excellent with his line and length, as he ended up with figures of 2/8 in 5.4 overs.
The track was getting slow, and the importance was to score a few quickfire runs. The visitors realized it in the second inning. They got a healthy platform with the 79-run opening partnership, as Aiden Markram celebrated a well-deserved half-century. The middle-order of the batting department struggled again before wicket-keeper batter Kyle Verreynne smashed an aggressive 59-run knock.
Wiaan Mulder also managed a fine knock of 34 runs at a strike rate of 47 as they finished with 246 in their second innings. With the track getting slowed down on the third day, the responsibility was on the shoulders of their veteran spinner to come up with a magical performance.
The Durban-born didn’t need to do a lot of work at the start of their bowling, as his bowling partners were enough skillful to restrict the home side to 104/6 during the latter’s chase. Keshav Maharaj found both Gudakesh Motie and Joshua Da Silva plumb before the wickets.
Despite being smashed for a boundary on the first ball of the over by Jayden Seales, the spinner still tossed up the second ball, which turned in to get its inside edge and into the hands of David Bedingham. With the wicket, Keshav Maharaj becomes the highest wicket-taker for South Africa in the spin department of the longest format.
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The record was held by the late Hugh Joseph Tayfield, who collected 170 wickets in just 37 games at an average of under 26, with 14 five-wicket hauls. Maharaj now has 171 wickets in 52 Tests, at an average of nearly 31. He also becomes the ninth-highest wicket-taker for the side in the list, where Dale Steyn sits at the top with 439 scalps.
“Was nice to get a long haul. We did well. We enjoyed it. A lot of positives. But back to the drawing board and on to the next one. I pride myself on Test cricket. Just staying loyal to the game.” Keshav Maharaj expressed at the end of the game. He now prepares himself for the upcoming T20I series against the same opponent.
