Keshav Maharaj is playing for South Africa in the ongoing second Test against Pakistan at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, and on Tuesday (October 21), he picked up 7 wickets in the first innings. Maharaj bowled a total of 42.4 overs and accounted for the dismissal of 7 Pakistani batters for 102 runs. The figures of 7 for 102 by Maharaj, who didn’t play in the first Test last week at Gaddafi Stadium, helped him break the 22-year-old record of best bowling figures by a bowler in a Test match played between Pakistan and South Africa in Pakistan.
Before Maharaj, the record of best bowling figures was in the name of former South African left-arm wrist spinner Paul Adams. Adams bowled 45 overs for the Graeme Smith-led side in the first innings of the Lahore
Test in October 2003 and picked up 7 wickets for 128 runs.
Best bowling figures in Pakistan-South Africa Tests (in Pakistan)
| BOWLER | TEAM | OVERS | RUNS | WICKETS | VENUE | YEAR |
| Keshav Maharaj | South Africa | 42.4 | 102 | 7 | Rawalpindi | 2025 |
| Paul Adams | South Africa | 45 | 128 | 7 | Lahore | 2003 |
| Shaun Pollock | South Africa | 29.2 | 78 | 6 | Faisalabad | 2003 |
| Noman Ali | Pakistan | 35 | 112 | 6 | Lahore | 2025 |
| Senuran Muthusamy | South Africa | 32 | 117 | 6 | Lahore | 2025 |
Keshav’s figures are also the best by a spinner in South Africa-Pakistan Tests.
Best bowling figures in Pakistan-South Africa Tests (by a spinner)
| BOWLER | TEAM | OVERS | RUNS | WICKETS | VENUE | YEAR |
| Keshav Maharaj | South Africa | 42.4 | 102 | 7 | Rawalpindi | 2025 |
| Paul Adams | South Africa | 45 | 128 | 7 | Lahore | 2003 |
| Mushtaq Ahmed | Pakistan | 37 | 78 | 6 | Durban | 1998 |
| Saeed Ajmal | Pakistan | 42 | 96 | 6 | Cape Town | 2013 |
| Noman Ali | Pakistan | 35 | 112 | 6 | Lahore | 2025 |
The overall record of best bowling figures in an inning of a Test match between Pakistan and South Africa is in the name of former South African right-arm medium pacer Kyle Abbott. Abbott bowled 11.4 overs for South Africa in the first innings of the February 2013 Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion and dismissed 7 batters for 29 runs.
Best bowling figures in South Africa-Pakistan Tests
| BOWLER | TEAM | OVERS | RUNS | WICKETS | VENUE | YEAR |
| Kyle Abbott | South Africa | 11.4 | 29 | 7 | Centurion | 2013 |
| Keshav Maharaj | South Africa | 42.4 | 102 | 7 | Rawalpindi | 2025 |
| Paul Adams | South Africa | 45 | 128 | 7 | Lahore | 2003 |
| Dale Steyn | South Africa | 8.1 | 8 | 6 | Johannesburg | 2013 |
| Fanie de Villiers | South Africa | 11.5 | 23 | 6 | Gqeberha | 1998 |
The overall record of best bowling figures by a non-Pakistani bowler in a Test match played in Pakistan is in the name of Sri Lanka’s Ravi Ratnayeke. In Sailkot, during the October 1985 Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, he picked up 8 wickets for 83 runs in 23.2 overs.
