Stand-in South African captain Keshav Maharaj claimed his record 200th Test wicket on day two of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.
Maharaj, captaining South Africa in Temba Bavuma’s absence, reached the landmark in his seventh over of the day by dismissing his counterpart Craig Ervine for 36. The left-arm spinner bowled a delivery slightly wide of off-stump on a length, prompting Ervine to charge down the track in defence. The ball turned sharply inward, beating the batter as keeper Kyle Verreynne completed the stumping.
Zimbabwe were reduced to 119-3, with opener Brian Bennett ruled out and subbed due to a concussion after being struck on the head by teenage quick Kwena Maphaka. Apart from Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder claimed three wickets, while debutant Codi Yusuf took two as Zimbabwe reached 212-6 at tea on day two.
HISTORY MADE! 🙌🔥
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) June 29, 2025
Keshav Maharaj claims his 200th Test wicket, the very first South African spinner to reach this milestone 🏏.
A monumental milestone for our world-class left-arm spinner, written into the history books with pride and passion! 🇿🇦💪
This one’s for the ages,… pic.twitter.com/RrIOLOrc8v
Earlier, on day one, South Africa were struggling at 55-4 before Lhuan-dre Pretorius rescued the innings with a 153 off 160 balls, becoming the youngest Test centurion for his country. His knock began controversially after he survived a contentious caught-behind decision. Corbin Bosch then added an unbeaten 100 off 124 from No. 8, pushing the total to 418-9 before the declaration.
1st Test, Zimbabwe vs South Africa
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Keshav Maharaj becomes first South African spinner to 200 Test wickets
Maharaj has become only the ninth South African to take 200 Test wickets, and the first spinner from his country to reach this milestone in their 136 years of cricket history. The next South African spinner on the list for most Test wickets is off-spinner Hugh Tayfield (1949–1960), who claimed 170 wickets at 25.91.
Since South Africa's readmission in 1991, left-arm wrist-spinner Paul Adams – renowned for his unorthodox action – is second behind Maharaj with 134 wickets at 32.87.
Paul Harris (103 wickets at 37.87) and Nicky Boje (100 wickets at 42.65) are other South Africa spinners to take at least 100 wickets in Tests.
In South Africa's all-time Test wicket-takers list, only two bowlers have claimed 400-plus wickets: Dale Steyn leads with 439 wickets at 22.95, followed by Shaun Pollock with 421 at 23.11. Kagiso Rabada, currently fourth with 336 wickets, has a strong chance to challenge the top spot in the coming years.
Most Test wickets for South Africa
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