Windies and South Africa's first test match ended in a draw

The first Test between Windies and South Africa in Port of Spain has ended in a draw. The Hosts WI needed 298 runs in 72 overs to win on the fifth day of the match, Men in Maroon could only manage 201 runs for the loss of 5 wickets and the match was a draw. The last 28-match series was broken with both teams drawing Tests. The left-arm spinner of Keshav Maharaj was honoured with the Man of the Match award for his incredible bowling performance who grabbed eight wickets in the first test match.

The opening match between the two teams was played from 7th to 11th August. South Africa posted 357 runs in the first innings thanks to skipper Temba Bavuma's top score of 86 runs. For Windies Jomel Warrican and Jayden Seales both took 4 and 7 wickets respectively. In reply to South Africa's 357, Windies' first innings ended on 233 runs, South Africa thus got a decisive lead of 124 runs. For South Africa, Keshav Maharaj took 4 wickets for 76 runs in 40 overs and bowled the longest spell in red ball history without a break after 23 years.

South Africa opened the second innings with a lead of 124 runs, the Visitors declared the second innings at 173 for 3, Windies thus got a challenge of 298 runs for victory. South Africa tried to wrap up the Windies in the second innings but these efforts went in vain. Alick Athanaze put up a tough fight to keep the Windies at bay, the southpaw scored a 92 off 116 balls with 9 fours.

The left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj once again rose on the occasion and took 4 wickets in the second innings as well. The 34-year-old spinner gave away 88 runs in 26.2 overs to guide the four off the field. But even after that, no other South African bowler could do anything special. As a result, the match was a draw, it was the first match in 28 matches since July 2023 to end in a draw. It also became the first match in 2024 to end in a draw.

Talking about the World Test Series standings, the Hosts WI are currently placed at the bottom of the table with 20.83 PCT. On the Other hand, the Proteas hold the 7th place with 26.67 PCT. The second and final test match of this series will begin on the 15th of August.