Welcoming team environment allowed newbies to thrive, says Maharaj

THE character of the Proteas Test team shone brightly once again, this time in Zimbabwe, and without many of the regular players, including the injured captain Temba Bavuma, the rested Kagiso Rabada and Aiden Markram, the trio that played a key role in the side winning the WTC Final last month.

- ONGAMA GCWABE

The fresh-faced Proteas team beat Zimbabwe by 328 runs inside four days to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Like the full-strength team, this new team, led by Keshav Maharaj, saw different individuals stand up in different moments of the match.

Firstly, it was 19-year-old Lhuan-dre Pretorius (153) who stood tall in the face of adversity, scoring a century on debut despite coming in to bat under pressure with the score on 23/3.

The youngster became the youngest Test centurion for South Africa, and most importantly, took South Africa past 400 runs in the first innings. Corbin Bosch's (100 not out) maiden century in only his second Test was also key.

With the ball, Wiaan Mulder's four-for helped the Proteas bowl out the hosts for 251 runs in the first innings, securing a first-innings lead of 147 runs.