Proteas spinner Keshav Maharaj said poor shot selection has cost South Africa in the first Test against Australia at Kingsmead in Durban.
South Africa ended the fourth day on 102/4. They still need 319 runs to reach a target of 421, with six wickets left.
A score of 421 would be a world-record chase in Test cricket. The other way to save the match is to bat through all three sessions on the final day, which is Tuesday.
“To be honest, if you look at a lot of our dismissals, it’s probably self-imposed and maybe shot selection, I would assume. A couple of soft wickets again, if you’re honest,” Maharaj said, according to IOL.
Maharaj said the move from white-ball cricket may have played a part. He said batters in short formats want the ball to come onto the bat and look to play a certain way.
“Probably that would be some of the dismissals that led to a demise rather than it being good bowling necessarily, without disrespecting anything,” he said.
“I think we gave a couple of soft wickets if you look at that, even today. Guys are a bit frustrated. It’s probably going to hurt a little bit,” Maharaj added.
The Proteas started their second innings well. Ryan Rickelton fell early, but David Bedingham and Aiden Markram then added 66 runs for the second wicket.
South Africa were 73/1 at that stage. Bedingham was then out for 46, the same kind of promising start he made in the first innings.
His wicket slowed the scoring and started a collapse. South Africa lost two more wickets before the close of play.
Australia had earlier reached 314/6 in their second innings. Renshaw led the way with the bat for the second time in the match.
Maharaj praised the Australian batter. “Yeah, he played really well. From the first innings to the second innings, he was quite clear in his game plan and never deviated from that,” he said.
“I think the foundation that he set in the way he absorbed pressure in the first innings allowed him to play with the freedom that he did just by sort of reading the conditions really well. And you’ve got to give credit where it’s due sometimes,” Maharaj said.
Markram is still at the crease, unbeaten on 45. He was the hero of South Africa’s World Test Championship final win.
“I think the application that Aiden showed from when we got sent in to bat is probably what we’re looking for,” Maharaj said.
“But it’s just taking each session at a time, or each ball at a time, and making sure that we’re quite sound in terms of how we’re going to approach it,” he added.
The second Test of the series will be played in Gqeberha next week.
Source: this article is based on reporting by IOL Sport. Image: IOL Sport. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.