Record Alert: Keshav Maharaj becomes first Proteas spinner to reach huge milestone during ZIM vs SA 1st Test [Watch]

South Africa captain Keshav Maharaj scripted history by becoming the first Proteas spinner to bag 200 wickets during Day 2 of the opening Test against Zimbabwe on Sunday, June 29. The left-arm spinner stumped his counterpart Craig Ervine to reach the milestone in his 59th Test.

The dismissal came in the 34th over of Zimbabwe’s first innings. Maharaj bowled a flighted delivery that turned inwards, beating Ervine. The left-hander looked clueless in his defense while charging back at the bowler. In the meantime, wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne collected the ball before taking the bails in a flash.

Watch the video below:

Notably, Keshav Maharaj is the ninth South African bowler to reach 200 Test wickets. With 439 scalps in 93 Tests, Dale Steyn has the most scalps for the Proteas in Tests. Among spinners, Hugh Joseph Tayfield is behind Maharaj, bagging 170 scalps in 37 Tests.

Keshav Maharaj wraps up Zimbabwe’s tail as South Africa gain a 167-run first-innings lead in the opening Test

Keshav Maharaj quickly wrapped up the tail as Zimbabwe were bundled out for 251 in their first innings on Day 2. The left-arm spinner finished with figures of 3/70. Wiaan Mulder and debutant Codi Yusuf ably supported him with four and three wickets, respectively.

Sean Williams put up a lone fight with the bat for Zimbabwe, scoring 137 runs off 164 balls, including 16 boundaries. Skipper Craig Ervine also chipped in with a valuable 36 off 90 deliveries.

Earlier, the Proteas declared their first innings for 418-9. Lhuan-dre Pretorious starred with the bat on his debut, scoring 153 runs off 160 balls in an innings laced with four maximums and 11 boundaries. Meanwhile, Corbin Bosch remained unbeaten on 100 off 124, including 10 boundaries. Dewald Brevis also chipped in with a quickfire 51 off 41 balls, hitting four sixes and three boundaries.

Tanaka Chivanga emerged as the leading wicket-taker for Zimbabwe, returning with figures of 4/83, while Blessing Muzarabani bagged two wickets.

In the second innings, South Africa were 7/1 after 2.5 overs at the time of writing, with Tony de Zorzi and Wiaan Mulder at the crease. They are currently leading by 174 runs. Chivanga provided the first breakthrough by dismissing Matthew Breetzke for one run.

Follow the ZIM vs SA 1st Test live score and updates here.

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Edited by James Kuanal