Keshav Maharaj took history by taking 4 wickets against England, in this matter, I was left behind Imran Tahir, number-1

By Cross Talk India Team Last updated Sep 3, 2025

South Africa’s left arm spinner Keshav Maharaj made history in the first ODI against England on Tuesday (2 September) in the first ODI at Hadingley, Leeds. The left -handed spinner held the English batsmen completely with his accurate bowling and assumed the hosts for just 131 runs. This is England’s fourth lowest score against South Africa.

After winning the toss in the match, the decision to bowl first went to South Africa. Nandre Burger and Lungi Angidi gave initial shocks, while Vian Mulder broke England’s back by dismissing Jamie Smith, who was making half-century. After this, Keshav Maharaj, who landed on the field, trapped the English batsmen in the spin trap.

Maharaj first walked explosive batsmen Jacob Bethel and Will Jacks and then cleaned the English tail. He took the wickets of Adil Rashid and Sony Baker for two consecutive balls and put the match completely in South Africa.

Keshav Maharaj took 4 wickets for a total of 22 runs and took the record for the best bowling of any South African spinner against England so far. He did this feat broke the old record of Imran Tahir (4/38).

South African spinners best ODI bowling figures against England

Keshav Maharaj – 4/22 (Leeds, 2025)
Imran Tahir – 4/38
Robin Peterson – 3/22
Paul Adams – 3/26
Tabrez Shamsi – 3/38

Talking about the match, England’s innings was batting first and was reduced to 131 runs in just 24.3 overs. Jamie Smith scored 54 runs, but no batsman besides him could cross the 15 -run mark. For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj and Vian Mulder bowled deadly. Maharaj took 4 wickets for 22 runs in 5.3 overs, while Mulder took 3 wickets for 33 runs in 7 overs. At the same time, Lungi Engidi and Nandre Burger also got 1-1 success.

South Africa did not find any difficulty in chasing the small target and the team comfortably took a 1-0 lead in the series with 7 wickets in 20.5 overs.