3 player battles to watch out for in 2nd West Indies vs South Africa Test ft. Keshav Maharaj vs Alick Athanaze
The opening Test between the West Indies and South Africa ended in a stalemate after a superb knock from Alick Athanaze on the final day of the match, which allowed the hosts to take the series to the decider. South Africa dominated the majority of the game but with rain having played a significant part all through the series, the Proteas weren't able to bowl the West Indies out in the second innings.
After opting to bat first, South Africa posted a competitive score of 356, thanks to crucial half-centuries from Tony de Zorzi and skipper Temba Bavuma. They stitched together a crucial stand and towards the end, and important contributions from Wiann Mulder and Kyle Verreynne eventually helped South Africa cross the 350 mark.
Keshav Maharaj spun a web around the Windies batters in the first innings and finished with four important wickets. Kagiso Rabada also chipped in with three wickets as the West Indies could only muster 233. However, persistent rain meant that South Africa didn't have much time to enforce a result on the final day.
They had the option to shut shop and bat out the final day without showing any real intent. However, it was anything but that, as they came out firing all cylinders. A good opening stand between Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi laid the platform before Tristan Stubbs raced his way to a 50-ball 68.
The West Indies faced a tricky situation during the run chase, as they had the opportunity to go after the target. However, a few quick wickets meant that they had to show some restraint. Alick Athanaze struck a stroke-filled 92 and was instrumental in salvaging the draw for the West Indies.
The second Test is slated to commence from Thursday, August 15. Ahead of the series decider, let us have a look at three players' battle to watch out for in the final Test.
#1 Gudakesh Motie vs Tony de Zorzi
During the opening Test, one of the player battles that fascinated most of the cricket purists was between Tony de Zorzi and Gudakesh Motie.
De Zorzi was opening for South Africa for the very first time in Tests. He took his time initially against the fast bowlers but employed an attacking approach against left arm spinner Gudakesh Motie.
A left-arm orthodox spinner against a left-hander is a perfect match-up for the batter but it doesn't work that way in Test cricket. In ODIs and T20s an impactful knock of 30 or 40 could turn out to be a match-winning one. However, it is not the same when it comes to Test cricket.
De Zorzi took the attack to Motie and smashed him for a couple of sixes en route to his 78. While there was hardly any turn on offer, Motie went wicketless in the first Test and will be eager to bounce back in the second Test. Bowling against Tony de Zorzi will be a challenge but we might see Motie changing his plans and succeede against the left-hander.
#2 Keshav Maharaj vs Alick Athanaze
Again a player battle between a left-arm orthodox spinner and a left-hander but this time it is the bowler who holds the advantage against the batter. Keshav Maharaj was at his scintillating best during the opening Test and finished with eight wickets in the game. He prized out Alick Athanaze on both occasions despite match-up going against him.
Maharaj kept troubling Athanaze with a change of pace and extracted some natural variations from the surface. After getting defeated on quite a few occasions, Athanaze misread a flighted delivery and didn't quite get to the pitch of the ball, giving a straightforward catch to the slip fielder.
Athanaze was much better in the second innings as he found his range against Maharaj and was not too fazed about how he was dismissed in the first innings. He employed the sweep on quite a few occasions and succeeded. He went on to score 92, which included nine fours, but Maharaj had the final laugh, dismissing him during the game's closing stages.
#3 Tristan Stubbs vs Kemar Roach
Now this will be an interesting battle to witness. We saw Kemar Roach dismissing Stubbs twice in the opening Test. However, the batter is relatively new in this format but has already shown that he is capable of countering some of the top-quality fast bowlers. Stubbs could only muster 20 in the first innings but got an opportunity to play his natural game in the second essay.
Stubbs took his time in the first innings and faced 48 deliveries for his 20. He is a natural stroke player and should play his game rather than trying to mold it given it's a Test match. It would be best if you never lose your USP, which got in the team. He nicked off a good length delivery in the first innings.
However, with no such pressure in the second innings, Stubbs came out firing all cylinders. He smashed six fours and a couple of maximums during his knock of 68 and took the attack to Roach. The knock suggested that if Stubbs plays his natural game, he could be successful against any bowler.