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Key Points

Sean Williams smashed a brilliant 137, equalling Brendon Taylor and Grant Flower's record of six Test centuries for Zimbabwe. Keshav Maharaj made history by becoming the first South African spinner to take 200 Test wickets. Despite Williams' heroics, Zimbabwe collapsed to 251, trailing South Africa by a massive margin. The Proteas ended Day 2 with a commanding 216-run lead, tightening their grip on the match.

Key Points: Sean Williams Joins Taylor and Flower With Historic Zimbabwe Century

  • Sean Williams scores 137 to match Brendon Taylor and Grant Flower's six Test tons
  • Keshav Maharaj becomes first SA spinner with 200 Test wickets
  • Zimbabwe collapses to 251 after Williams' dismissal
  • South Africa extends lead to 216 despite early wicket
2 min read

Zimbabwe's Sean Williams joins Taylor, Flower after blistering century

Sean Williams hits sixth Test ton, matching Taylor and Flower, as Maharaj claims 200th wicket in Zimbabwe vs South Africa thriller.

"Williams was Zimbabwe's driving force with the bat in response to South Africa's daunting 418/9 declaration. – Match Report"

Bulawayo, June 29

Sean Williams etched his name in the history book after hammering his sixth Test hundred on the second day of the opening Test against South Africa on Sunday at Queens Sports Club.

Williams was Zimbabwe's driving force with the bat in response to South Africa's daunting 418/9 declaration in the first innings. Williams is now level with Brendon Taylor and Grant Flower for the record of the second-highest Test century for Zimbabwe, who boast six hundreds each. Andy Flower sits at the summit with 12 Test centuries for Zimbabwe.

The 38-year-old southpaw tried to rebuild Zimbabwe's innings by raising a 96-run partnership with skipper Craig Ervine. After Keshav Maharaj had Ervine stumped on 36(90), Ervine continued to lead the fight against South Africa single-handedly.

His record-breaking exploits concluded after Maharaj's stellar show. He removed Williams to turn the tide in his side's favour. He deceived Williams in the air and got him stumped on 137(164), courtesy of Kyle Verreynne's lightning-quick stumping. After Ervine's dismissal, Zimbabwe collapsed on 251.

South Africa continued to adopt a swift approach despite losing Matthew Breetzke cheaply on 1(6). Tony de Zorzi and Wiaan Mulder kept the scoring rate high, ending the day with 49/1 with an imposing lead of 216 runs.

Apart from a stellar show from Williams, Maharaj became the first spinner to scalp 200 Test wickets for South Africa.

Maharaj outfoxed the Zimbabwe captain and made him his 200th Test scalp. While becoming the first spinner to scale 200 wickets in the format for South Africa, he also joined a special club.

Majaraj became the ninth South African to enter the 200 Test wickets club after Dale Steyn (439), Shaun Pollock (421), Makhaya Ntini (390), Kagiso Rabada (336), Allan Donald (330), Morne Morkel (309), Jacques Kallis (291) and Vernon Philander (224).

Apart from Maharaj, Codi Yusuf and Wiaan Mulder shone with the ball. Yusuf struck early and rattled Zimbabwe's top order, and ended the first innings with 3/42. On the other hand, Mulder cleaned up the middle and tail to finish with 4/50 in 16 overs at an economy of 3.10.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
Maharaj reaching 200 wickets is equally impressive! Spinners don't get enough credit in SA cricket dominated by pacers. Reminds me of how Ashwin and Jadeja have carried India's bowling in recent years.
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Ananya R
Zimbabwe's collapse after Williams' dismissal shows their over-dependence on him. Need to develop more consistent batsmen. Our Indian team faced similar issues before the emergence of Kohli, Rohit and others.
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Karthik V
Respect to Williams for keeping Zimbabwe cricket relevant! But honestly, Test cricket needs more competitive matches. Hope ICC does something to strengthen smaller teams like they did with Afghanistan.
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Michael C
That stumping by Verreynne was world class! Wicketkeeping standards have improved so much globally. Reminds me of Pant's lightning quick hands behind the stumps.
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Priya S
While Williams played brilliantly, Zimbabwe's batting collapse shows why they struggle in Tests. They need to focus on longer format development instead of just T20 leagues. BCCI should help associate nations more.

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