Proteas spinner Maharaj backs counterpart Shamsi to find form

Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj believes it will only take one innings to change the fortunes of slow bowling partner Tabraiz Shamsi as they prepare to take on India in the second ODI in Ranchi on Sunday.

The Proteas crept to a nail-biting nine-run victory over their hosts on Thursday in Lucknow where wrist spinner Shamsi copped a massive 89 runs during his eight-over quota.

Shamsi claimed the wicket of Ruturaj Gaikwad, his only one from the two matches he has played on the Indian tour so far, but Maharaj said they were not concerned by what some are saying is lack of form and confidence from the former world leading T20 bowler.

Maharaj said Indian batters went on the attack and unfortunately the crafty left-arm spinner was caught in the crossfire of the hosts’ offensive as they chased down the visitors' 250-run target on tricky batting conditions.

The slow left-arm orthodox bowler said Shamsi did well to hold his nerve in the wake of a final over attack which saw 19 runs come from the bat of the talented Sanju Samson.

“I don’t think it was a case of him (Shamsi) bowling badly,” Maharaj pointed out.

“I know the figures don’t always give a true reflection of how someone bowled. The Indian batters had to take someone on and unfortunately it was him on the day.

“I thought he held his nerve really nicely in the end, picking up a wicket at that stage to open up an end for us, so I don’t think it is a concern, we know what Shamo (Shamsi) is capable of and it is only a matter of time before he bounces back,” Maharaj said.

On a personal note, Maharaj, who has taken 5 wickets so far on tour, said grading himself against the best players in the world gave him the drive to do better.

“It is always nice to do well against India. It was a tough tour for me the last tour when we came here, so I wanted to rectify that. Obviously you want to grade yourself against the best in the world and we played against a world-class batting line-up from the T20s.

“There is also a lot of potential in this new Indian side, there are seasoned campaigners and really world-class players.  So just trying to repeat performances and hopefully continue to build up to the world cup,” he said.

The Dolphins man said they weren’t feeling too much pressure when it came to the matches that lay ahead, adding they were aiming to play good cricket first and letting the rest of the result take care of itself.

The Proteas have two ODIs against India before jetting off to Australia, where they play two warm-up matches before the start of the World Cup.

With the quick turnaround time before they depart for Australia, he felt it was a “good distraction” but it kept the players focused and gave them some additional time to prepare.

“There is always pressure when you play international cricket, especially against a powerhouse like India, in their conditions. Having said that, we don’t focus too much on the (2023) World Cup and the Super League points.

“We know what we need to do, and obviously it is something that we need to play for, but we have just been focusing on trying to put in good performances, focusing on our processes, and letting the rest take care of itself,” he said.

Maharaj believes the Proteas can use the series as a way of ensuring they are sharp in all facets of the game, despite the longer format, ahead of the international tournament Down Under.