South Africa Tightens Grip in 2nd Test Against West Indies with Strong Performances from Markram and Verreynne
The second Test between South Africa and the West Indies at Providence, Guyana, is firmly under control.
As they aim for the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy, the visitors are in a commanding position with a lead of 239 runs and five wickets remaining. South Africa gains a significant lead because to alliances between Markram and de Zorzi and then Verreynne and Mulder.
Key Performances and Match Scorecard
South Africa 160 and 223 for 5 (Markram 51, Verreynne 50*, Seales 3-52, Motie 2-61) lead West Indies 144 (Holder 54*, Mulder 4-32, Burger 3-49, Maharaj 2-8) by 239 runs.
Another exciting day in Guyana saw eight wickets fall as the lead fluctuated. South Africa took two wickets early on, but the final two wickets from the West Indies nearly brought them level in the opening innings. The match was reduced to all but a one-inning contest thanks to a 40-wick partnership between Jason Holder and Shamar Joseph, which was the second-highest in the West Indian innings. South Africa will feel more in control of that contest.
South Africa was well-positioned thanks to an opening partnership of 79, half-centuries from Aiden Markram and Kyle Verreynne, and an undefeated sixth-wicket partnership of 84 runs between Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder, the highest of the series thus far. However, West Indies won’t be too discouraged because there is still a good amount of time left in the game, especially considering how swiftly wickets fall in the early going.
Day one’s first session saw South Africa lose four, while Day Two saw West Indies lose three, which might give the latter team an early advantage on Day 3. West Indies will want to be batting by the third afternoon when the surface is predicted to be at its finest, especially as they have a formidable chase in mind.
In order to eliminate South Africa’s middle and lower order before they reach there, the West Indies will rely on their attack, especially that of hometown hero Joseph and Jayden Seales, who took 2 for 7 in his third spell. After a brief mini-collapse in which South Africa lost 4 for 19 in nine overs following a strong start of 120 for 1, they have so far held up nicely.
Holder’s taut lines and Seales’s seam movement put South Africa’s openers to the test up front. At the end of his opening over, Markram edged Holder just short of first slip, but he calmed when, five balls later, he drove Seales for four through cover point. Seales hit Tony de Zorzi on the back pad, and when he pushed a single off Holder, he appeared to have a run-out opportunity, but he pulled Seales off his toes to make an announcement. On March 30, South Africa had lunch without incident.
After the interval, when they presented their first meaningful opportunity, South Africa had more than doubled their morning score to 66 in 4.4 overs as runs came thick and fast. Joshua Da Silva, the wicketkeeper, dove low to attempt to grab the ball but was unable to hang on after De Zorzi moved Holder to his left.
With just three more runs off the following 31 balls he faced, De Zorzi, who was on 36 off 41 at the time, nicked off to give Seales a well-deserved reward. When the opening stand crumbled, De Zorzi walked off, punching his bat in fury.
While they bided their time, Markram and Tristan Stubbs managed to scrape together six runs off the next four overs, but Stubbs’s patience appeared to be tried when he edged Gudakesh Motie past slip for three.
Stubbs seemed uneasy throughout the session, even though his first boundary came off the 21st ball he faced when he reverse swept Motie through third. He held his own till tea after holding off on Holder’s lbw appeal. When Markram drove Motie to Alick Athanaze at ludicrous mid-off on 42, he was lucky to make it there before being thrown down. At the tea break, South Africa was 111 for 1, 127 runs up.
Markram scored 50 off 104 balls three overs into the last session, but seven balls later he was caught off balance by a straight-hitting Motie delivery and out for LBW. When Temba Bavuma edged an away seamer from Joseph on his third delivery, it did not carry to slip, but he could have been out. When Bavuma moved forward to a length ball and was struck in the pad, Motie had better luck. Although West Indies successfully reviewed to have the call reversed, the umpire did not believe it was out.
A mini-collapse was set off by the wicket. Stubbs gave Seales a run-in in the following over, and two overs later, David Bedingham was removed off the wicket, giving Seales a second wicket in three overs and giving the hosts a chance to keep South Africa’s lead below 200.
They crossed that threshold with Mulder and Verreynne. Twelve minutes before the end of play, Mulder was declared leg before wicket in Seales’s fourth over, but he reviewed and ball-tracking revealed it was a leg that was missing. With 26 runs off the final four overs of the day, including Verreynne’s fifty off 71 balls—his third fifty in Test cricket—the duo picked up speed as the day came to a finish. His single Test century to date, along with all of his half-centuries, have occurred away from home.
Earlier, the West Indies ended the first innings just 16 runs short of South Africa’s 160, thanks to a last-wicket stand between Holder and Joseph. Jomel Warrican left for a 16-ball duck after the team resumed at 97 for 7, chipping an overpitched delivery from Kagiso Rabada to Keshav Maharaj at mid-on.
Alongside Rabada, left-arm seamer Nandre Burger began the day bowling full until launching a short-ball attack in his second over to set up Seales. Burger bowled his third over of the day, and the first three deliveries were getting shorter and shorter. However, his fourth over was full on the stumps, and Seales was hit on the pad and out leg before wicket.
When Joseph edged Burger to Markram at second slip, South Africa had a chance to end the West Indies innings on the following ball, but Markram was unable to hold on to a catch at head height. The mistake proved costly, as Joseph went on to score 25 (though Mulder dropped him again at 15 for a third slip) and solidified support for Holder, who waged an aggressive opening hour of play.
Holder reached his first half-century of the match and his 14th in Tests when he blasted the final ball of Mulder’s opening over of the day over long-on for six. Joseph faced Burger, hitting his short ball past the point and behind the square leg before, purely for giggles, smashing the long ball off of the ground. Ninety minutes into the day, South Africa was batting again after Maharaj had defeated Joseph’s sweep and had him out leg before wicket in his opening over of the morning.
