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South Africa women’s coaching staff has had a guest appearance. Their male counterpart, veteran left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj lent a helping hand to Laura Wovlaardt’s team as they prepare for ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a T20I series against India. Maharaj has helped part-timer Chloe Tryon being seen as a regular option whereas Nonkululeko Mlaba has slowed down the flow of runs in the middle overs.
In the second of the five-T20I series at Kingsmead, Durban, local boy Maharaj gave Chloe a plan to outfox India batters. Defying match-ups, she got the better of Smriti Mandhana who went for the slog sweep, taking on a delivery pitched outside off stump and getting caught on the boundary. Jemimah Rodrigues went for a sweep shot too but the good-length delivery missed the bat, crashing into the pads. Later in the game, Anushka Sharma tried to hit it over the cow corner.
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Chloe dedicates award to Maharaj
Chloe ended up conceding just 22 runs from her quota of four overs. She was named 'Player of the match' for striking twice in the powerplay overs. She credited Maharaj for the tweaks in her bowling.
"Kesh[av] Maharaj has been with us and he said before the game that he thinks one of our spinners will be Player of the Match, so I am happy I could do it for him," Chloe said in the post-match presentation.
Luus happy to work with World No.3
Sune Luus lauded the third-ranked ICC ODI bowler for sharing his experience with the team.
"It's been awesome to work with him," said Luus at the post-match press conference. "Sometimes a coach can be repetitive, and think he knows everything, but coming from a number one [sic] bowler in the world, we just absorbed everything he was saying the last couple of days. It was phenomenal to have him in the camp, just his experience as well."
The South Africa women’s team was playing a T20I in Durban after a gap of five years. She also credited the pitch curator and ground staff for preparing a surface that is unlike Durban’s usual nature.
"He's our inside man, and a Durban boy, so he knew the conditions very well. I think that definitely worked in our favour," Luus said. "The pitch has not been playing like a normal Durban slow pitch. It was a belter in the first game and we thought it was going to be a bit slower today, but it still played very well. They've prepared good wickets for us."
After taking a 2-0 lead in the series, the action will resume at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg on April 22.
Maharaj will be seen in action on the international stage when Australia tour South Africa for three ODIs and as many Tests. He is currently on a break after going unsold in Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL) auctions.
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