Keshav Maharaj guides South Africa to series victory against West Indies

On Saturday, Keshav Maharaj's impressive performance led South Africa to a 40-run victory over West Indies in the second test in Georgetown. Maharaj, who took three crucial wickets, also made history as South Africa's most successful spin bowler. The match ended within three days as South Africa bowled out West Indies for 222 runs, setting them a target of 263 to secure the win.

The rain-affected first game in Trinidad was drawn but the second test victory means South Africa have won 10 successive series against the Windies. Maharaj, named man of the series, finished with 3-37, going past Hugh Tayfield’s tally of 170 test wickets to set a new standard for South African spin bowling.

Fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who also took three wickets, is now on 299 test victims. It was a close call for the touring side in a low scoring match as the Windies fell agonisingly short.

They begun their chase with more than two days to play, but lost opener Mikyle Louis cheaply for four as he nicked a catch to Wiaan Mulder at slip off Rabada. Captain Kraigg Brathwaite was the next man out but not before adding 42 runs with Keacy Carty for the second wicket.

Late fightback from West Indies

When the experienced Jason Holder fell without scoring to leave West Indies on 104-6, it looked an uphill task for the home team. Joshua da Silva and Gudakesh Motie, however, shared the best Windies partnership of the series, adding 77 runs to reduce the target to 82, before Motie was lbw to Maharaj for a test-best 45.

Maharaj trapped Da Silva lbw for 27 and a brilliant one-handed diving catch from skipper Temba Bavuma sent back Shamar Joseph before Maharaj had Jayden Seales was caught by close-in fielder David Bedingham. South Africa had resumed in the moring on 223-5 with a 239-run lead but the 22-year-old Seales ran through the tail to return test best figures of 6-61 as the last five wickets fell for 22 runs.

Stay informed with the latest updates on live cricket score, cricket players, match schedules and ICC rankings. Keep an eye on your favourite cricket team, including the stellar performances of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Check out the cricket schedule, track team standings and dive into player stats and rankings on Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times website and app.