South African left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is desperate to do well on the subcontinent pitches as he wants to learn from the Sri Lankan senior left-arm spinner Rangana Herath.
During the first Test at Galle in the ongoing Sri Lanka tour, where South Africa lost by 278 runs, Maharaj finished with a wicket-less in the first innings but got four wickets (4/58) in the second innings.
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While it is his first subcontinent tour in international cricket career, Maharaj has accepted that he was not in the rhythm in the first innings but he was better during the second innings.
The 28-year-old said, “Everywhere you go in the world you want to be consistent in your lengths to cause the batter to be uncomfortable when you are bowling. That is something I had to pick up quickly after the first innings where I didn’t have a lot of rhythm. I found that in the second innings I put the ball in better areas than I did in the first innings.
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Maharaj has impressed on Herath’s consistency on his bowling length, who took total five wickets (2/39 & 3/38) in the Galle Test.
Maharaj said on that, “His consistency is phenomenal. Left-arm spinners are known to control the game but he does something special. He turns the ball at will, he slides the ball on at will, it is something that I would love to learn in my trade and I will try to get some knowledge from him going forward.”
Maharaj also revealed that he spoke to Herath in the last year when Sri Lanka had a tour in South Africa and the Sri Lankan gave some crucial advice to him.
The South African said, “I spoke to him when Sri Lanka toured South Africa last year and he gave me some insight, I would like to pick his brain more about playing in sub-continent conditions. He is the best in the world at what he does.”
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Another left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was the partner of Maharaj in the Galle Test, where Shamsi picked up four wickets (3/91 & 1/37). As both played together in the domestic cricket, Maharaj had a fun with Shamsi in the Galle Test.
Maharaj said, “Shamsi and I played a bit of domestic cricket together. We’ve always known each other and what we are about, we enjoy bowling together. It is something new for me because I have never bowled with another spinner at international level, but it is a lot of fun.”
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Though Maharaj believes that Sri Lanka is the favourite in their home condition, he also believes that they will put tough fights against Sri Lanka.
Maharaj concluded, “We have come here as underdogs. Sri Lanka are really good in their conditions, they showed that when they beat Australia here as well. There is everything to play for, South Africans are known to bounce back when we do lose our first match. The boys have worked hard, we are ready to give Sri Lanka a go in their conditions.”
The second and final Test will begin on Friday (July 20) at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo.
