South Africa’s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is eyeing early breakthroughs on the second morning of the ongoing Test against Pakistan, hoping to expose the hosts’ lower order and tilt the contest in the Proteas’ favour at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan closed day one at 259 for 5, with Saud Shakeel (42 off 105 balls) and Salman Ali Agha (10 not out off 25) steadying the innings after a few hiccups.
Reflecting on the opening day’s play, Maharaj admitted that South Africa’s fielding let them down, as the side missed four catches — three of Abdullah Shafique and one of captain Shan Masood, who went on to contribute 57 runs in a crucial 111-run partnership with Shafique.
“As a collective, we know how important catches are — not just in the subcontinent. No one means to drop them, but it was good to see the guys bounce back. It’s frustrating, but that’s part of the game,” Maharaj said at the post-day press conference.
Senuran Muthusamy, who claimed 11 wickets in the Lahore Test, bowled just four overs on the opening day as Maharaj and Simon Harmer shouldered most of the workload. Maharaj explained that the decision was tactical.
“We saw the wicket wasn’t behaving like Lahore, so we wanted to focus on restricting the batters. There was no issue with Sen — he came back well in his second spell,” Maharaj clarified.
South Africa managed to strike late in the final session to balance the day’s proceedings, but Maharaj felt one more breakthrough could have given them the upper hand.
“I felt if we’d got one more wicket before stumps, we’d probably have been in a slightly better position. Tomorrow’s first session is crucial — it’s often the moving session in this series,” he said.
Looking ahead, the spinner emphasised the importance of discipline and patience. “We need to start really well in the morning, get Saud and Agha early, and open up one end for the tail. It’s about bowling our best balls consistently and putting them under pressure,” Maharaj concluded.
