
Keshav Maharaj Scripts History, Becomes First South African Spinner To Achieve This MASSIVE Milestone
The 35-year-old reached the milestone by dismissing Craig Ervine. Maharaj, who achieved the feat in his 59th Test match, is the ninth South African bowler to take 200 Test wickets. During his stellar career, Maharaj has taken five-wicket hauls in an innings on 11 occasions and has claimed four wickets in an innings six times.
After Maharaj completed 200 Test wickets, Cricket South Africa congratulated the spinner on the milestone with a post on X.
"HISTORY MADE! Keshav Maharaj claims his 200th Test wicket, the very first South African spinner to reach this milestone. A monumental milestone for our world-class left-arm spinner, written into the history books with pride and passion! This one's for the ages, Kesh!," wrote Cricket South Africa.
HISTORY MADE! Keshav Maharaj claims his 200th Test wicket, the very first South African spinner to reach this milestone A monumental milestone for our world-class left-arm spinner, written into the history books with pride and passion
This one's for the ages,… pic.twitter.com/RrIOLOrc8v — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 29, 2025
Notably, South Africa's all-time leading Test wicket-taker is Dale Steyn, who claimed 439 wickets in 93 matches at an impressive average of 22.95. He is followed by Shaun Pollock with 421 wickets and Makhaya Ntini with 390.
Interestingly, Maharaj is also leading South Africa in the ongoing Test against Zimbabwe in absence of regular skipper Temba Bavuma, who has been sidelined by a hamstring strain.
After wining toss and opting to bat first, South Africa declared their first innings at 418 runs, powered by a brilliant century from 19-year-old Luan Pretorius, who played a memorable knock of 153 runs off 160 balls. His innings featured 11 fours and 4 sixes.
During his debut innings, Pretorius became the youngest South African to score a Test century, reaching the milestone at just 19 years and 93 days old.
Lower down the order, Corbin Bosch also made a significant impact with the bat, scoring a century off 124 deliveries. On his Test debut, Dewald Brevis impressed with his aggressive approach, smashing 51 runs off just 41 balls.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Indian Express
15 minutes ago
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG: Shubman Gill's ton the most in-control in England since records started being kept
Shubman Gill faced a lot of flak for the selection calls going into the second Test against England, but it doesn't seem to have affected his batting in any adverse way. In fact, the extra scrutiny seems to have worked in his favour as he scored his second century in as many games on the opening day at Edgbaston. Not only did the skipper extricate the team from a tricky position with half the side gone with only all-rounders and tail-enders to accompany him, the ton is statistically the most secure ever scored on English shores, since such records have been kept. According to CricViz, Gill's false shot percentage during Wednesday's knock was just 3.5 percent. The average in England is 12 percent. The BBC said this statistic made it the most controlled hundred in England since 2006, when such numbers began being collated. It contained just two outside edges off Chris Woakes – both before Gill had reached 20. There was an inside edge off Brydon Carse that helped Gill survive an LBW appeal. England took a review, but burnt it. Any edge, play-and-miss or mishit is considered a false shot, and there were three more of these from Gill – one off Woakes and two off Gill's counterpart Ben Stokes. Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara, all of whom have scored memorable hundreds in England, didn't exhibit this level of control. Neither did home team stalwarts such as Alastair Cook, Kevin Pietersen and Joe Root. In recent times, England's greatest tormentor was been Aussie legend Steve Smith, who has scored eight hundreds there. But the lowest false-shot percentage in any of those tons was 9 per cent. The previous lowest by any overseas player in England, according to CricViz, was 4.4 percent managed by South African great Jacques Kallis during the 2012 Oval Test. What could have worked in Gill's favour was that it was the second-easiest on record on the opening day of an Edgbaston Test, behind the one provided for the 2017 game against the West Indies, but nevertheless Gill has to be commended for the degree of control he exhibited under so much personal pressure, with the team already 0-1 down in a five-match series. The achievement is all the more significant as he averaged just 14.66 across six innings before the current tour. 'When he last came to England, he played with hard hands and pushed at the ball. Now he allows the ball to come and hit the bat. He is trusting his defence,' former India head coach Ravi Shastri told Sky Sports.


India Gazette
9 hours ago
- India Gazette
Vaibhav Suryavanshi cracks 31-ball 86 against England U19, narrowly misses Pant's record
Northampton [UK], July 3 (ANI): The 14-year-old Indian batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi fell just short of Rishabh Pant's record as he cracked a 20-ball half-century in the third ODI between India U19 side and England U19 at Northampton on Wednesday. During the match, Suryavanshi scored 86 in just 31 balls, with six fours and nine sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of over 277. He also broke the record for most sixes by an Indian U19 batter in an innings. The fastest half-century for India in U19 ODI cricket belongs to Pant, who smashed it in just 18 balls against Nepal back in 2016. Suryavanshi has the second-fastest U19 ODI fifty for India. South African Steve Stolk owns the record for fastest U19 fifty, scoring it in 13 balls against Scotland last January. Coming to the match, India U19 opted to field first. England U19 posted 268/6 in 40 overs, powered by fifties from Thomas Rew (76* in 44 balls, with nine fours and three sixes) and BJ Dawkins (62 in 61 balls, with eight fours and a six). Kanishk Chouhan (3/30) was the top bowler for India. During the chase, Suryavanshi and Vihaan Malhotra (46 in 34 balls, with seven fours and a six) put on 73 runs for the second wicket and a lower-order cameo from Kanishk (43* in 42 balls, with six fours and a six) took India to win with four wickets and 33 balls left. India leads the five-match series 2-1. Suryavanshi is India's top run-getter and overall second with 179 runs in three matches at an average of 59.66, with a strike rate of over 213. Suryavanshi, who turned out for the RR in the 2025 season, was one of the breakthrough stars of the tournament. In just seven matches, the teenager accumulated 252 runs in seven matches with a century and fifty, but it was his explosive century against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Jaipur that truly sent shockwaves through the cricketing world. Batting with a maturity well beyond his years, Suryavanshi hammered 101 off just 38 deliveries, becoming the youngest ever centurion in men's T20 cricket. His hundred, which came off just 35 balls, now stands as the second-fastest century in IPL history, a staggering feat for a player just 14 years old. (ANI)


The Hindu
10 hours ago
- The Hindu
Wimbledon 2025: Rublev, through to third round, explains how grasscourt game has changed
Andrey Rublev got the win but no easy ride at Wimbledon on Wednesday, as he fought past Lloyd Harris 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-6(5) 6-3 in a bruising second-round duel on Court Three. The 14th seed, who has reached 10 Grand Slam quarterfinals without converting any into a semifinal appearance, came off court sounding less relieved than reflective. 'Now, the level is different,' Rublev said. 'Everybody knows how to hit the ball. Everybody can be dangerous. Everybody knows how to serve over 200 (kph). Now it's more about who is more stable, more focused, who is more ready.' Rublev beat South African Harris at Wimbledon in 2021 but the intervening years have levelled the playing field in ways that surprised even the experienced Russian. 'Three years ago, I felt like if I just focused, there was no chance I would lose. Today, even with full focus, it was really tough to beat him,' he said. READ | Day 4 schedule: Djokovic, Sinner and Swiatek in action in second round 'The level is different. Everybody knows how to shoot hard now. They are going for the shots. In or out, it doesn't matter, 50/50, because then they know that they serve 200 (kph), they hold the serve. 'Before it was more (tactical), more strategy, how you play, how you defend, how you bring the balls back. Now, okay, you have tactic. Okay, I want to play like this. The guy serve 220, ace. Okay, you return. He shoot full power next set. 'Tactics don't really work that much anymore. Only when it's slower courts, and then yes. Then we see more rallies, then more tactics. Then the guy who is more prepared physically normally wins. Here when it's fast, now we see that everybody can shoot the ball hard, and that's why everybody have chances.' Next up is crafty French veteran Adrian Mannarino who promises to test Rublev's patience in entirely different ways. 'We've played many times. He can drive everybody crazy,' Rublev said. 'He's super talented. You need a lot of patience. He knows how to defend well, how to bring the balls back. That makes you go for extra risk, which makes you miss more.' With the draw opening up and the grass playing fast, Rublev may never have a better opportunity to finally reach a Grand Slam semifinal – assuming he can navigate the new reality of tennis where everyone can 'shoot the ball hard.'