South Africa vs Australia 2018, 1st Test, Day 2: 5 things we learnt from the day

#4 Keshav Maharaj picks up a well-deserved fifer

There was a lot of talk about this series being a battle between two superb fast bowling line-ups. However, once a brownish surface was rolled out, the two spinners – Maharaj and Lyon were always going to play a big part.

On the first day, Keshav Maharaj bowled beautifully as he picked up the key wickets of Shaun Marsh and Steve Smith. On the second day, he continued the good work as he plugged away from one end. He tossed the ball up and put lots of revolutions on the ball as he found turn and troubled the Australian batsmen consistently. Even after Marsh and Starc went after him, Maharaj continued to toss the ball up and reaped rewards.

Playing his first Test on his home ground, Maharaj cleaned up the Australian lower-order as he picked up his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket. It was also just the second fifer by a South African spinner against Australia since their re-admission.