Keshav Maharaj’s marathon spell puts pressure on West Indies

A marathon spell of bowling by Keshav Maharaj helped the Proteas pin West Indies back to close day three on 145/4, still trailing by 212 runs behind in their first innings at the Queen's Park Oval on Friday. 

The left arm off spinner's 28 over spell included three crucial wickets, while giving away just 45 runs, at an economy rate of 1.61, all from the Media Centre End on another rain-interrupted day in Port of Spain. 

Maharaj, speaking during the post-match interview, said the repetitive nature of Test cricket is one of the things he loves and he was at his repetitive best from the moment he entered the attack in the 13th over.  

“I keep things simple, I do a lot of target bowling and try to place a lot of volume and emphasis on that, so it is nice to see the dividends. 

“It has been a long year of white-ball cricket, so it's nice to get back out in the middle, I love Test cricket, I love the repetition and it is really exciting for me,” Maharaj said when asked how he prepares physically for such long spells of bowling. 

South Africa started the third day on 344/8, with Wiaan Mulder (41 not out) and Kagiso Rabada in the middle. The visitors added only 13 runs to their overnight score. 

They lasted roughly 20 minutes before Jomel Warricon and Jayden Seales took care of Rabada (21) and Lungi Ngidi for a duck respectively to end on 357 all out. 

Windies openers Mikyle Louis and skipper Kraigg Brathwaite got the home side off to a decent but slow start, chalking up 53 runs for the first wicket in the opening 27 overs of their innings. 

Louis was the first to perish, on the final ball of the session, after Maharaj broke through the right-handed batter's defence as the teams left the field for the lunch interval. 

Brathwaite and Keacy Carty returned after a 75-minute delay which was split by one Maharaj over, as the pair set about resurrecting their innings in the delayed start to the second session. 

They put on 61 for the second wicket, frustrating the bowlers into the occasional loose delivery, which was, for the most part, dispatched to or over the fence. 

An indication of the slowness of the surface coupled with the slow outfield lay in the fact that at stumps on the third day, the home side had hit just 12 fours and a six in 67 overs so far. 

A couple of dropped catch chances and a missed run-out prevented the Proteas from being further ahead on the wickets column, as Brathwaite and Carty (twice) survived being dismissed. 

“As the ball goes in the outfield it gets a little bit wet, towards the back end it got a bit more wet due to the rain being off and on. 

“The seam becomes a bit more slippery, doesn't react too much off the surface and it gets a little softer, so we were trying to keep the ball as hard as possible, maybe get a little bit of bounce here and there. 

“Bowling in a rhythm also breaks the Momentum up a bit, so it is about resetting, refocusing and coming back and repeating," he said about the impact of the wet weather hanging around. 

Having crossed the 100-run barrier, a Lungi Ngidi no ball conceded an extra run, but was also rewarded with the wicket of Brathwaite, who up to that point, had faced 130 deliveries for his 35 runs, while hitting just two boundaries before being run out by Wiaan Mulder shortly before rain again interrupted the already shortened second session. 

The tea break was taken early and a revised final session commenced, weather permitting, as Maharaj again displayed his supreme control and subtle variations to remove Carty leg before wicket for a decent 42 from 81 balls with five fours. 

Alack Athanaze used up 20 deliveries for his three runs before being deceived by Maharaj with a ball which found his outside edge on its way to Aiden Markram at slip, as the hosts slipped from 114/1 to 124/4 in the 57th over. 

With little over ten overs left in the day, Kavem Hodge (11) and Jason Holder (13) remained steadfast to see their team to the close without any further damage to the wickets column with day four again starting at 9.30am local time. 

Asked what he expected from the conditions and how they could dismiss their hosts on the fourth day, Maharaj said “not too much from the surface, perhaps the odd ball would react. 

“The way we went about our business, we really tried to hold the channel, and sometimes in Test Cricket when you hold [the] channel for long it does pay dividends. 

“We batted well up front, consolidated nicely but we know on this wicket it [taking wickets] happens in clusters, so it is about staying patient, making sure we are doing the right things and the rest will take care of itself,” he added.