St Lucia: Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj took a hat-trick to put South Africa on the cusp of victory on the fourth day of the second Test here on Monday. Maharaj removed Kieran Powell (51), Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva off successive deliveries in the 37th over to achieve the feat.
West Indies were 153 for seven in second innings, still 176 runs adrift of South Africa, who won the first Test by an innings.
Opener Kieran Powell scored 51 while Kyle Mayers hit 34. The scorecard, however, made a poor reading otherwise.
There have been 46 hat-tricks in Test cricket but Maharaj is the only one from South Africa to achieve the feat after the country’s re-admission. The previous South African to take a Test hat-trick was Geoff Griffin, back in 1960.
Pace bowler Kagiso Rabada picked the first three wickets to dent the Windies.
Brief scores: South Africa 298 and 174 vs West Indies 149 and 153/7 (K Powell 51, K Mayers 34, K Rabada 3/44, K Maharaj 3/30).
