On this Day in 2022: Keshav Maharaj’s 7-For That Rocked Bangladesh

During the 2nd Test between South Africa and Bangladesh, which was played at the Gqeberha, Maharaj played a crucial role in helping the Proteas get a clean sweep at their home. On 11 April 2022, he also became the first bowler in cricket history to consecutively take a 7-wicket haul in the fourth innings of the game. Let’s take a look at the match and how Keshav Maharaj’s unplayable deliveries tackled the Bangladeshi batters. 

Maharaj’s Brilliance in the First Test

The first Test match of the Bangladesh tour of South Africa was played at Durban, and in this game, the Tigers got to know about the challenges they would be going up against Keshav Maharaj. He scored just 19 and 5 runs off the bat in the first innings of the game, but was ready to showcase his dominance with the ball. When Bangladesh batted in the first innings, Keshav Maharaj went wicketless. But the Bangladeshi batters struggled to score against him, with him ending at an economy of just 1.75 runs. During the fourth innings, Bangladesh was all out at the score of 53 only. This time, Maharaj dominated with the bowl, taking 7 wickets and conceding just 32 runs. 

Second Test: Knock With the Bat

The second Test started off well, with the Proteas batting first. Four batsmen had already scored above 50 runs in the first innings, creating momentum for the team. But the middle order also did the job with the bat, as Keshav Maharaj performed well. Coming out to bat at number eight, he had an 80-run partnership with Wiaan Mulder, where Maharaj scored 55 runs off 58 balls, completely devastating the Bangladeshi bowlers.

Following the partnership, the Bangladeshi team got the breakthrough by taking the wicket of Wiaan Mulder, who was dismissed by Taijul Islam at the score of 33 runs off 77 deliveries. But Maharaj did not stop smashing against the bowlers, as he went on to score 84 runs off 95 deliveries with 9 fours and 3 sixes. This also helped the Proteas to reach a mammoth score of 453, as Keshav Maharaj finished as the top run scorer for the team in the first innings. 

How Bangladesh Fell Apart in the 4th Innings

Taking the Bangladeshi batters out at the score of 217, the Proteas came out to bat again in the game’s third innings. This time they scored 176 runs for the loss of 6 wickets before their captain Dean Elgar decided to declare the innings. With this, the South African cricket team decided to give a mammoth target of 413 runs for the Bangladeshi batters to chase. The target was definitely huge, and to make things even more challenging for the Bangladeshi team, Keshav Maharaj decided to play an important role once again.

When Bangladesh came out to bat, Keshav Maharaj was given the opportunity to bowl the first over of the innings. Capitalising on the same, he did not let the captain down, as Maharaj took the wicket of Mahmudul Hasan Joy at the third ball of the innings. Later, he also went on to take the wicket of Najmul Hossain Shanto in the third over, dismissing him at the score of 7 runs off 10 balls. With two quick wickets, Maharaj was able to put South Africa in the game and also ensure that the game ended quickly for the Proteas.

Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj also contributed well, as these bowlers were only enough to tackle the Bangladeshi batsmen. Maharaj took his third wicket in the 11th over by dismissing Mushfiqur Rahim in a delivery which was well caught by the captain, Dean Elgar, in the slips. Following his wicket, Mominul Haque, the captain of the Bangladesh cricket team, was also dismissed by Keshav Maharaj, which put them down at the score of 38 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. 

With Simon Harmer taking the wicket of Yasir Ali, the Bangladeshi cricket team had six wickets fallen, with Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz on the crease. These batsmen looked to take the match slowly away from the Proteas, but it was definitely not possible for them to understand the spin deliveries of Keshav Maharaj. He came back into the game during the 21st over, as he took the wicket of Litton Das, taking away the last chance Bangladesh had to make a comeback. And with this wicket, Keshav Maharaj took his figures to another five-wicket haul.

In the 23rd over of the game, the match nearly ended for Bangladesh, as Keshav Maharaj dismissed Mehidy Hasan Miraz with a beautiful catch from the keeper. The lower order was not able to maintain the run-scoring momentum, and taking its opportunity, Maharaj also dismissed Khaled Ahmed in the last ball of the over. Thus, Bangladesh were now standing at 80 runs for the loss of 9 wickets, and Keshav Maharaj had already secured a 7-for, becoming the only bowler to get consecutive 7-wicket hauls in the fourth innings. 

Test Series to Remember 

Although the Test series against Bangladesh was just for two games, it was definitely one to be remembered by cricket fans and also Keshav Maharaj. In the second match, he also received the Player of the Match award for scoring 84 runs with the bat and taking 9 wickets combined in the game. Along with that, he was also the Player of the Series for the Proteas, for scoring 108 runs and taking an impressive total of 16 wickets throughout.