Roach and Da Silva make history, before Rabada bowls Proteas to victory
South Africa vs. West Indies
Day 3 of First Test
Venue: SuperSport Park, Centurion
Result: South Africa won by 87 runs
Scorecard: http://bit.ly/
Kemar Roach picked up five wickets in South Africa’s second innings to take his career tally to 260 in Test cricket, surpassing Joel Garner to become the West Indian bowler with the fifth most wickets all time in the format.
Wicketkeeper, Joshua Da Silva also carved his name into the history books, by achieving the most dismissals by a wicketkeeper in Test history with his seven catches in the innings. However, South Africa were able to see home the first contest with a clinical bowling performance later in the day, winning the match by 87 runs.
“As a batting unit, only batting just over 100 overs (collectively) in both innings, I think that was where we missed out. I think the first innings especially, we were obviously going good, and we should have batted at least 90 overs in the first innings and that would have put us in a way better position,” captain Kraigg Brathwaite said at the end of the match. “As batters, we have to improve. The bowlers got 20 wickets, but we (the batters) just have to come better in the next game… I just think that mentally, when you get in, you have got to find ways and know which ball you want to score off and which ball you want to leave.”
BE MORE PRECISE
Brathwaite continued:
“We would have seen some wide balls getting batsmen out. We just have to be more precise. We just have to be clear about which balls we are going to play and which balls we want to leave.”
The West Indies started Day 3 with six wickets to get, after taking out majority of the South African top order in the final session on Day 2, where the new ball just proved too much for the Proteas to handle and the West Indies found themselves batting before lunch chasing a target of 247.
Similarly, to the way Aiden Markram (47 from 58 balls) stood up in the Proteas innings, Jermaine Blackwood was able to lead from the front, scoring 79 (93 balls) before being caught in the slips off the bowling of Kagiso Rabada, who picked up figures of 6-50.
Blackwood support throughout his counter-attacking innings form various teammates, but no one else was able to amass a total of more than 20 runs.
WHAT’S NEXT
The two teams will meet in the second and final Test match of the series at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, starting Thursday 8 March. First ball daily is 10am (4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica). (Windiescricket).
