SA’s Mulder grabs three as West Indies lose initiative

Gros Islet (St. Lucia), June 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) West Indies were bowled out for 149 runs late on the second day to give South Africa a big 149-run first-innings lead in the second Test at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground.

Jermaine Blackwood (49) and Shai Hope (43) were the leading run-makers, but neither was able to carry on to a big score as the home side surrendered the initiative after they had restricted the Proteas to 298 on Saturday.

The Proteas have already taken an unassailable 1-0 lead in the two-Test series.

South Africa's Wiaan Mulder was the surprise package with the ball, as the medium-pacer took three wickets for just one run.

Blackwood came to the crease at 54/4 and stayed for nearly two-and-a-half hours in which time he faced 106 balls and hit six fours. He was the last man out to give left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (2/47) his second wicket.

Later in the day, Blackwood reached the milestone of 2,000 Test runs when he got a boundary from a fine shot which raced to the third-man boundary.

Hope, batting at No. 3, also played fluently and struck four fours off 103 balls. He added 43 with Blackwood for the fifth wicket but fell with the score at 97-5 and West Indies were back in trouble.

Mulder then made a huge impact when he took his three wickets in the space of eight balls as West Indies lost the last four wickets for six runs.

Earlier, Quinton de Kock made 96, which helped the Proteas add another 80 runs to their overnight score.

Brief scores:

South Africa 1st innings 298 in 112.4 overs (D. Elgar 77, Q de Kock 96; K Roach 3/45, K Mayers 3/28) vs West Indies 1st innings 149 in 54 overs (S Hope 43, J Blackwood 49; W Mulder 3/1, K Rabada 2/24).

Source: IANS