Proteas skipper Elgar on tactical Maharaj masterstroke: 'It was purely gut'

While much of the focus following South Africa's resounding innings and 12 runs victory over England at Lord's has centred on the fast bowling unit, spinner Keshav Maharaj also played a key role for the Proteas. 

Kagiso Rabada (5/52 and 2/27) was named man-of-the-match, while Anrich Nortje (3/63 and 3/47), Marco Jansen (2/30 and 2/13) and Lungi Ngidi (0/12 and 1/15) completed a pace quartet that is looking increasingly dangerous. 

The Proteas' dominance meant that Maharaj wasn't needed in the first innings, so when skipper Dean Elgar turned to him in just the eighth over of the second innings, it came as a surprise. 

It proved to be a masterstroke. 

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Maharaj removed Zak Crawley LBW with just his third delivery, and then, with the last ball before lunch, he had Ollie Pope out, leaving the hosts on the back foot at 38/2 after the morning session. 

Maharaj finished with figures of 2/35, solidifying his status as the Proteas' first-choice tweaker, with Simon Harmer also waiting for an opportunity. 

Speaking after the match, Elgar revisited the decision to back Maharaj as his first-change bowler before turning to Nortje or Jansen. 

"It was purely gut," Elgar said.

"I know Zak Crawley is potentially not the best against left-arm spin. No disrespect for him, but the stats don't lie. It was gut feel, and I thought maybe the guys would relax going into lunch, and we might just get a wicket.

"Luckily, it went our way. That was purely my thinking and if it didn't go my way, I would have been okay with it knowing we still had a lot of time in the game."

Elgar paid tribute to Maharaj and the value he adds to the side.

"Kesh just settled in. It's