Keshav Maharaj, Rabada help South Africa to keep hopes of West Indies win alive

PORT OF SPAIN: Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada combined on Saturday to earn South Africa a healthy first innings lead over the West Indies with the visitors attempting to defy the impact of inclement weather in seeking to force an unlikely victory going into the final day of the first Test of a two-match series in Trinidad.

Steady rain restricted play to just the final session on the fourth day but in that time South Africa dismissed the home side for 233 in the first innings and then made their intentions clear in reaching 30 without loss off five overs in the second innings at the close.

With an overall lead of 154 runs and all ten wickets in hand, the Proteas will be hoping for a full day’s play on Sunday for their batsmen to try and at least lay the platform which will give the bowlers a chance to put the Caribbean side under pressure in the final innings of this truncated match.

“Hopefully we can get a full day because that will obviously give us a realistic chance of getting a result,” said South Africa captain Temba Bavuma after his team made the most of the limited playing time on day four.

“To use the old cliche, we will have to take care of the first hour to set it up and if it’s going our way then we can throw caution to the wind to see what happens.

“But it’s imperative that we set it up in that first hour,” he added.

Resuming at 145 for four, Kavem Hodge and Jason Holder extended their fifth-wicket partnership to 49 only for Aiden Markram’s occasional off-spin to achieve the breakthrough when he bowled Holder for 36.

Maharaj then claimed his fourth wicket of the innings when he quickly removed Joshua da Silva before Kagiso Rabada, who was kept waiting to use the second new ball as Bavuma gave Maharaj and Markram a chance for more success, triggered a collapse with three quick wickets.

Kavem Hodge and Gudakesh Motie both fell to sharp slip catches while Kemar Roach was trapped leg-before as the fast bowler lifted his tally of Test wickets to 294 in his 63rd match, all before his 30th birthday.

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It was left to Jomel Warrican, the leading wicket-taker in South Africa’s first innings with four for 69, to show his worth with the bat in belting an unbeaten 35 off 32 balls with three fours and two sixes to extend the total beyond the 200-run mark.

Lungi Ngidi replaced a frustrated Rabada and immediately wrapped up the West Indies innings by bowling last man Jayden Seales, whose mood was not helped when Tony de Zorzi was dropped at slip driving at the fast bowler in the last over of the day.

It now remains to be seen if the weather will be kind enough to allow de Zorzi and opening partner Markram the chance to make the final day an intriguing one despite the loss of so much playing time over the first four days.