The first Test between West Indies and South Africa ended in a draw with rain playing spoilsport for the majority of the match held at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad. However, Keshav Maharaj starred in the game, having claimed four-fers in both innings. With this, Keshav Maharaj became the first SA spinner to claim eight wickets in a Test match on WI soil.
Keshav Maharaj’s discipline was key to South Africa taking a 124-run first innings lead but he also found some turn on the third day on a docile pitch. A hint of bounce meant that when South Africa declared on the fifth morning, with two sessions and 20 minutes to go, they were banking on Keshav Maharaj, to a large extent, to be able to bowl them to victory.
Keshav Maharaj’s remarkable spells in test cricket
Responding to SA’s first innings score of 357, WI were folded for 233 as Keshav Maharaj sent back Mikyle Louis (35), Keacy Carty (42), Alick Athanaze (3), and Joshua Da Silva (1). Keshav Maharaj dismissed Kraigg Braithwaite (0) in the first over of the last innings. Carty (31) and Hodge (29) fell to him thereafter. The left-arm spinner also stopped Athanaze (92) from getting a ton.
Keshav Maharaj, who claimed 4/76 (40 overs) and 4/88 (26.2 overs), finished with match figures worth 8/164 in 66.2 overs. As per ESPNCricinfo, no other SA spinner has claimed as many or more scalps in a Test in WI. Interestingly, the previous best match figures by a SA spinner in WI also belonged to Keshav Maharaj as he claimed 7/83 in the 2021 Gros Islet Test.
Maharaj recorded his third-best figures in away Tests. He claimed 12/283 in the 2018 match against Sri Lanka in Colombo. In the 2017 Wellington Test against New Zealand, the veteran claimed 8/87.Hugh Tayfield and Paul Adams are the only other SA spinners to claim at least eight wickets in an away Test thrice. No other Proteas spinner has accomplished this milestone more times.
Maharaj’s twin four-wicket hauls see him race to 166 wickets across 51 Tests at 31.43.As per ESPNCricinfo, he went past 300 maiden overs during the game (316).Versus WI, the left-arm spinner now owns 20 wickets from four matches at 17.85.17 of his wickets have come on Windies soil. Maharaj now owns 94 wickets in away matches (home of opposition) at 31.50.
If you woke Keshav Maharaj up in the middle of the night and asked him to start a spell, he would immediately oblige.He is not exaggerating. Maharaj bowled 40 overs from the Queen’s Park Media Centre End during West Indies’ first innings – albeit it was broken up by rain breaks – and delivered the second-longest spell by a bowler in men’s Test since 2001.
In the absence of a second specialist spinner in the XI, Maharaj “knew there would be a lot of bowling for me to do,” and prepared for it in the months of white-ball cricket that preceded this series which included an SA20, IPL and the T20 World Cup.
Keshav Maharaj opens up on his passion for spin bowling post 1st test vs WI at Trinidad
Veteran South African spinner Keshav Maharaj revealed that spin-bowling remains his passion and underlined he is ready to bowl an entire day if need be. The left-arm spinner also disclosed that he concentrates most on Test cricket out of all the formats.
The 34-year-old was superb on a docile Trinidad wicket in the opening Test against the West Indies that eventually resulted in a draw. Maharaj bowled a 28-over spell in the first innings and sent down 40 overall, bagging figures of 40-15-76-4. He also had figures of 26.1-2-88-4 in the second innings, but the Proteas didn’t have enough time to force a victory.
Speaking from Trinidad, Maharaj stated that his workload management is as per the needs of red-ball cricket and suggested that he doesn’t wish to miss even one Test. As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he elaborated:
“My passion is spin bowling. I love it. I can wake up at two o’clock in the morning and if you ask me to bowl, I’ll bowl. That keeps me motivated. And also, the desire to want to do well for the team and take this team into a different direction, I’ll bowl the whole day if I need to.
“Whatever format I play, I always keep my workloads as if I’m preparing for Test cricket. The only thing that changes is your lengths and sometimes your lines a little bit, but from a longevity point of view, I still bowl my long hours, regardless of whether it’s T20 or fifty-over cricket.”
Having made his first Test appearance in November 2016 against Australia, Keshav Maharaj has risen to become South Africa’s No.1 spinner in the format. With 166 scalp, he is only five away from becoming the Proteas’ leading wicket-taker among spinners in Tests.
Keshav Maharaj on drawn result in Test matches
The Durban-born cricketer added that it was disappointing not to get a result in Trinidad and suggested that they will try their best for the same in Guyana.
“It’s obviously disappointing not to get a result. We’re always going to play cricket to ensure that we can give ourselves the best chance, even if that process dangles the carrot with the prospect of losing a game. Draws don’t count for much. We obviously know there’s a World Test Championship at stake, but we’re focusing on each and every game,” he said via ESPN Cricinfo.
The second and final Test against the West Indies begins on August 15 in Guyana.