Keshav Maharaj’s disciplined bowling and Brathwaite’s costly run-out leave West Indies struggling on Day 3
Keshav Maharaj’s Marathon Spell Tightens Grip on West Indies in Rain-Hit 1st Test between South Africa and West Indies.
The first Test between the West Indies and South Africa at Port-of-Spain was halted by rain on the third day. Keshav Maharaj, a spinner from South Africa, put a lot of pressure on the West Indies batting lineup with a persistent 28-over performance.
Match Scorecard at the end of Day 3
West Indies 145 for 4 (Carty 42, Louie 35, Brathwaite 35,Maharaj 3-45) trail South Africa 357 (Bavuma 86, De Zorzi 78, Warrican 4-69, Seales 3-67) by 212 runs.
On the third day of a rain-affected Test, South Africa frustrated West Indies with Keshav Maharaj bowling 28 overs unchanged from the Media Centre End, although with pauses due to the weather. Although South Africa will view themselves as having the upper hand, the squeeze only produced four wickets, and with 90 minutes lost during the day and additional rain predicted, neither team appears likely to win.
On a slow, dry pitch, West Indies behind by 212 runs, and runs are still hard to come by. While South Africa’s first innings total in nine away Test matches before Christchurch 2022 was just 13 runs higher than their overnight total, they needed early wickets to make a difference. The West Indies lineup blunted them, and they made a few fielding errors on a surface not meant for hurry.
So far, batting has been laborious, and on the third morning, there were indications that things will get increasingly harder. Wiaan Mulder was lucky that Jayden Seales’ second ball did not seam back in far enough to take him off stump since it stayed low.
Still, Kagiso Rabada led the way as South Africa appeared to be playing with a definite command to score quickly. In a fruitful over, he flicked Seales through a backward square leg and then tried to drive, but he missed the second slip. His intentions were short-lived. Jomel Warrican got the edge, and Joshua da Silva finished the job after Rabada faced five more balls. Twenty minutes into the session, Seales completed the task by bowling Lungi Ngidi six balls later, ending South Africa’s innings. They only scored 13 more runs for the course of the night.
With 117.4 overs still in the field, the West Indies should have known that batting would be difficult, particularly against the greatest players in South Africa. For the openers, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi shared the new ball and posed two distinct but equally difficult questions.
Ngidi was a little of a length, Rabada maintained it full, and the West Indies only scored 23 runs in their opening ten overs. Mulder took Ngidi’s place as the third seamer, but South Africa had to switch to spinning as soon as Rabada’s period finished.
In the thirteenth over, Maharaj was given the ball and nearly made a breakthrough early on. After drawing Kraigg Brathwaite forward in his second over, Maharaj produced an edge that lobbed low but fell to Aiden Markram at slip. But he was unable to hang on. At that point, Brathwaite was on 7 off 43 balls. Like South Africa’s skipper Temba Bavuma on day two, Brathwaite was happy to take time at the crease and allow the runs arrive from the other end. He went on to cut Maharaj through point for his maiden four.
Mikyle Louis was more aggressive, especially through the covers, where he scored four of his five goals. In addition to being the fourth half-century opening stand between him and Brathwaite in three Tests, he scored the single that pushed West Indies to fifty and almost ensured they would escape the session unscathed. However, Louis was bowled during his turn to a Maharaj arm ball just before lunch.
Rain caused another 20-minute break one over into the second session, which had been postponed for 55 minutes. Brathwaite hit Maharaj for six three overs into the second session, but he left most of the attacking to Keacy Carty because the disruptions had no influence on his focus. Carty made an immediate impression with his confidence and played the shot of the day, getting up on his toes to punch Rabada for four points behind the basket.
With only four front-line bowlers available to them, South Africa was forced to rotate between the three seamers and retain Maharaj at one end, where he held Brathwaite quiet for a while, allowing the West Indian captain to score just six runs off 37 balls. After that, things became routine. None of them appeared to be trying to take a wicket, although Carty, who is 28 years old, had an opportunity in the field when he stopped a Mulder ball at point and stole a run, but Ryan Rickelton was there to stop him.
Carty pivoted, and had Rickelton’s throw been precise, he would have been tagged short of his mark; instead, the ball sailed wide, allowing Carty to continue batting. Carty reached 32 after three overs and struck Maharaj high to make a cover. Tristan Stubbs made a mistake and spilled the catch after racing back to take it over his shoulder.
A calm Brathwaite hit Ngidi to Mulder at mid-on, prompting South Africa to run for the single, but a straight hit put him on the line and out before the tea was even brewed. With 35 runs from 131 balls, Brathwaite continues to hold the lowest strike rate of any hitter who has reached five thousand runs in a Test match since 2001. Rain arrived during the intermission, causing an additional thirty-five minutes to pass before the final session began.
Carty’s first batting was cut short after a Maharaj ball slid and smacked him on the front pad seven balls into the game. As South Africa’s second spinner, Aiden Markam had the opportunity to extend his innings five more overs when, with three on the board, Kavem Hodge edged but Kyle Verreynne failed to hold on fast enough.
When Maharaj hit again in the next over, Markram was the one fielding. Markam was able to slip when Alick Athanaze edged an arm ball. With the exception of Rabada’s last-minute surge, Markram and Maharaj bowled out the most of the remaining session, failing to remove Hodge or Jason Holder.
