Keshav Maharaj savours World Test Championship victory at Lords Cricket Ground with family

AN ADDED delight for Keshav Maharaj in winning a major international trophy with the Proteas cricket team recently at the Lords Cricket Ground, was having his 13-month-old daughter Milan sharing the moment with him and his wife Lerisha.

Lords in London is widely regarded as cricket’s Holy Grail and it was the venue where the Proteas beat Australia, to be crowned World Test Cricket champions.

It was the first time that a South African cricket team had won a major international trophy in 27 years, and it became a moment to savour.

“Having my wife and daughter there was also very meaningful because I always pictured Milan walking at Lords.

“That was a wonderful experience,” said Maharaj.

Given the number of near misses and misfortunes Maharaj, 35, and previous generations of Proteas cricketers had in attempting to win trophies in those barren years, puts into perspective the basis for his highly charged interview with Graeme Smith after the Lords win.

Apart from the magical moment when Proteas captain Temba Bavuma lifted the mace for the Test triumph, Maharaj’s emotional engagement with Smith also gained huge traction on social media sites.

“My interview summed up what it meant to win a major trophy.

“You saw the emotion. I can't say much more about that…the tears will tell you what it meant to me.”

Maharaj said he was inundated with messages from friends and family afterwards. 

“Everyone’s messages touched me from both family, friends and supporters out there.

“My parents (Athma, and mother Kanchan) were also there.  They were super-overwhelmed with emotion and felt privileged to be a part of the moment.”

While the plaudits poured in for Maharaj and the team, going into the contest against the powerful Australian team, many expected the Proteas to finish as the runners-up.

The Proteas chances of winning looked in a dire state after both teams completed their first batting innings, they trailed by 74 runs on what seemed a tricky wicket.

In summarising the play at that stage, some pundits and scribes and many more on social media coughed up the “chokers” tag that Proteas had worn grudgingly for many years because of their previous capitulations on the big stage.   

Maharaj said the derision and doubt didn’t get under his skin.

“I don't pay attention to media hype.

“After our first innings, the scoreboard didn’t really suggest we were going to win, but the belief shown by the squad to bounce back and bowl the way we did… and tick down the runs on the board for us, that was massive.”

Apart from the second innings batting heroics of Bavuma and Aiden Markram (136) and the fast bowlers throughout the match, Maharaj said their fielding was another outstanding feature of that performance. 

“I think we set the tone with our first catch, and the way we caught through the match. Those turned out to be game changing moments.

Maharaj said it was a “nervy finish”, thankfully they still had wickets in hand.

“When we hit the winning runs, it took a minute for me to burst into emotion.

“It was a privilege to be a part of the win.”

Maharaj said he always believed the team could bag a major win.

“Fortunately enough, that did come to fruition.”

DAILY NEWS