Keshav Maharaj's marathon spell helps Proteas peg West Indies back

The Windies still trail by 212 runs in a match that has been hampered by rain after the visitors batted for the the better part of two days to be 357 all out.

On a slow, docile pitch at the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad, Maharaj was always going to be the Proteas' trump card if they are to get a positive result.

Openers Mikyle Louis and Kraigg Brathwaite got the home side off to a decent but slow start, chalking up 53 runs for the first wicket in the opening 27 overs of their innings.

Maharaj broke the stand on the last ball before the lunch break when the left-arm spinner got got one to slide between bat and pad and crash into the stumps of Louis.

The Proteas picked up the further scalps of Alack Athanaze and top-scorer Alack Athanaze (42) and Windies struggled to bat with any fluency.

Mahraj said after the day's play: "I keep things simple, I do a lot of target bowling and try to place a lot of volume and emphasis on that, so it is nice to see the dividends.

"It has been a long year of white-ball cricket, so it's nice to get back out in the middle, I love Test cricket, I love the repetition and it is really exciting for me."

The Proteas will hope to wrap the Windies innings quickly with a decent lead but the weather must have the final say in Trinidad.

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