On Sunday evening, someone joked that Bangladesh would have a hard time getting to lunch at Kingsmead on Monday. Scoffing and eye rolls greeted him. Yes, South Africa had reduced the visitors to 11/3 in their quest to win the first Test by 274 runs. However, seven wickets in a single session? But don’t get ahead of yourself.
South Africa won the match in less than half a session, proving that the joker was correct. Bangladesh lost 7/42 in the 13 overs they faced after 55 minutes of play on the fifth day of the match. Even South Africa’s media manager was caught off guard by the country’s rapid rise to prominence, addressing the almost assembled reporters at the press conference with a joyful, “Good afternoon!” The time was 11:53 a.m.
Bangladesh’s total of 53 was the lowest of any team in South Africa, and the lowest of any team in Kingsmead. Quite rightly so. Their batting performance was awful. The way they grabbed the one-day series by the scruff of the neck and clinched it forcefully in the deciding match was admirable. However, this was a dreadful performance.
They resembled the South African sides who flailed, flapped, and floundered in the subcontinent in the 1990s, rather than players who had grown up on a regular diet of spin bowling on turning surfaces.
That isn’t to imply that the bowlers aren’t capable. It’s the two of them. This was the first time in South Africa’s 451 Test matches that they have dismissed their opponents with with two bowlers in an innings. It’s also the first time since Hugh Tayfield took 7/23 and Tufty Mann 3/31 against Australia at Kingsmead in January 1950 that South Africa’s spinners have claimed all 10 wickets in an innings.
The bowlers were off-spinner Simon Harmer and left-armer Keshav Maharaj, respectively. Harmer had 4-41 after 19 overs in the first innings and finished with 4-104. Maharaj fought for 37 overs but was eventually bowled out for 65 runs. In the second innings, Maharaj grabbed 5-14 from his first 35 deliveries en route to a 7-32 haul.
Harmer took 3-21 and finished the match with a score of 7-136. It’s tempting to leave those mind-boggling figures on the screen alone, but it would be a disservice to Harmer and Maharaj.
Harmer, who hasn’t played a Test match since November 2015, has come back from the Kolpak desert a much better player. His unbeaten 38 in the first innings was a valuable contribution and easily his best score at this level.
His bowling was a fascinating oxymoron: who’d heard of attacking off-spin before? And yet, there he was, ready to play the game with anyone who stood in his way. Without a doubt, the delivery that spun and bounced and smashed the top of Najmal Hossain Shanto’s off-stump in the first innings will be etched in his mind.
Maharaj only has good things to say about his fellow slow poisoner: “He’s a terrific addition to the locker room because he’s a lot of fun, has a lot of excellent ideas, and has progressed as a cricketer. He bowls in a style that demonstrates this. It’s world-class in terms of his ball shape, trajectories, lines, and lengths. Also, his on-field thinking, which is quite amazing and useful to our team.”
when he put forth the same effort as Harmer but fell short? “I’ve played a lot of crickets at Kingsmead,” Maharaj said, “and I understand you’re not going to take wickets every time.” “I was in a good situation in terms of how the ball was coming out. It’s frustrating not to get compensated, but having a world-class talent on the other end of the line is a plus.”
He earned his reward in the second inning. Only Vernon Philander (twice), Jacques Kallis, and Tayfield have taken five Test wickets for South Africa in fewer deliveries. In the fifth over of the innings, Maharaj clean-bowled first-innings centurion Mahmudul Joy Hasan and trapped Mominul Haque in front four balls apart, ending Bangladesh’s hopes of winning, drawing, or even surviving a clatter of wickets. He delivered a beauty that cut a curve through the air before pitching and then spit away to fall off stump to get rid of Yasir Ali.
The impact of that ball was heightened by the fact that it gave Maharaj 5-14 statistics, and Bangladesh was immediately 26 for 6.
Much has been made of South Africa’s first-choice pace attack defecting to the IPL, but given the conditions and the way the match evolved, how much would they have been called upon to do? “Playing one spinner would have been the only option if we were on the Highveld,” Elgar remarked, “but you’re playing in Durban.”
“How thrilling was it to witness two spinners bowling in unison, the ball on a string, and completely dominate the opposition? We’d been wanting to see it for a long time. It was fantastic to see them both competing at such a high level. Against both of them, most batting lineups would have struggled. Keshav and ‘Harmy’ would have bowled the majority of our overs even if the IPL players were available. It was incredible to observe their skill and intensity.”
That isn’t to say that Elgar isn’t a true South African: “We’re not used to or engaged in cricket in this manner. When it comes to responding to new events or happenings, it does, however, exhibit a lot of personality. It is possible for us to modify our opinions. When there are three seamers and a world-class spinner on the field, and fast bowling is the major attack, we still want to play Highveld cricket.”
Elgar heaped compliments on Harmer and Maharaj, although the latter, whose home ground is Kingsmead, could be understood for feeling pessimistic about his captain’s unwavering predilection for quick surfaces. Maharaj stated, “I adore playing at Kingsmead.” “Our record here isn’t terrific, so I was pleased to be able to contribute to changing that mindset and encouraging everyone to come and play more cricket at Kingsmead.”
Published By :- Shubham Agarwal
Edited By :- Khushi Thakur
