Here is the full transcript of Keshav Maharaj’s press conference ahead of the South Africa vs West Indies Super 8 clash
(Reporter:)
You’re probably the best guy to talk to today because in SA20 you played with Sherfane Rutherford, you played with Shai Hope, you played with Rostan Chase. I don’t know what the team will look like, but the first two will probably play. How important were your contributions to the bowling sessions this week?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Yes, we talked about it briefly. I think it’s obviously an increase as well from the series we played before coming to the World Cup. We know the danger they’re in, so it’s about coming up with nice and simple plans and focusing our execution towards those shots.
(Reporter:)
I don’t know if you’ve seen but there’s been a lot of talk now after you beat India about permutations and stuff, but I think it’s easy for you, just keep winning.
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Yeah, for us, look, the main thing is that we take each game in our time. Obviously it was a really big, huge game for us, so getting over the line just gives you a little bit of confidence going into the next game. West Indies had an amazing cricket game against Zimbabwe so it’s back to the drawing board to get there tomorrow and like I said take each game at a time.
(Reporter:)
How is the challenge of facing the West Indies different from the challenge of playing India?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
It’s a huge game for us at this stage of the tournament. Because we know if we get over the line, or hopefully we get over the line, it gives us a semi-final qualification. Like I said, West Indies can turn up in these events and we know the danger they have from an explosive point of view and they’ve got some in-form batsmen and some bowlers who are finding their rhythm, so we make sure we’re pretty clear about what we’re trying to do and just focus on our execution.
(Reporter:)
And in South African conditions, you know that when you play at St. George’s, when you play in Wanderers, they are two very different sets of conditions, but Wanderers and Santeria maybe not so much. So I wonder, is all this talk of black soil versus red soil so different?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
To be honest, I’ve tried to understand it as much as I can and I’m just trying to adapt like on the day and see what it gives you, but now generally speaking, red soil and black soil are very different in terms of reaction, so tomorrow we start the first three hours of this whole tournament, so it’s about adapting sooner rather than later.
(Reporter:)
Just on terms, I mean you’ve been here a lot now and everyone says there’s an advantage to staying here, but the playing field is changing, so is there still that advantage?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
It’s nice not to be travelling, but from a pitch perspective I think every game has been very different. In the four games we’ve played here, the conditions have been very different throughout the game. So I don’t see it as too much of an advantage. It’s just about adapting sooner rather than later compared to the opponent and focusing on making the adaptation in the game.
(Reporter:)
And when you say adapt quickly, I mean what you do is you look at two balls and then you say okay, this is how it bounces or how does it happen?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Yeah, bowlers generally give feedback and Quin is great behind the stumps and assessing the conditions. He obviously has the best view of anyone. So getting that communication between pitchers is really good. I know Swartz is great at it too. Aiden, if you don’t know who Swartz is. And then it’s just about communication like slow balls, cutters, probably that length. And yes, that’s basically the customization of the day. And then the batting front just says, okay, these are our scoring areas based on the conditions that we were exposed to.
(Reporter:)
Just for the record – you beat India and it was a huge game, a lot of tension and now you’re probably being talked about as favourites, you’ve been in that position before. How do you deal with it personally and how does the team deal with it because the expectations are obviously growing?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Yeah, I think when I came back after the win against India, there was a real energy and buzz in our camp. When you look at it, you beat arguably the best side in the competition. But we won’t get carried away by it. We still know that there is a lot of cricket in this tournament. So to brush ourselves off and do the things we can do better from that game and focus on the positives and keep building. As I said, West Indies are a very strong side, a very dangerous side, so they can’t be taken for granted at any stage. But yeah, just focus on what we do really well and adapt very quickly.
(Reporter:)
You have made light work of a really packed Indian batting line-up. The West Indies also began to use the hammer and tongs. They scored 254 against Zimbabwe. After this win, do you think tomorrow will be the toughest challenge for the South African bowling line-up and how big do you think your three wickets will be against India?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
I don’t think we took the game lightly but I think we were quite clinical in what we wanted to do and credit to the fast bowlers in the way they tried and kind of set plans and it paid off. But yeah, like you said, West Indies are an explosive batting unit, so we have to make sure that we come up with sensible plans to try and fight their batting based on the conditions we’ve faced. It’s a daily game, so adapting quickly and finding those one-percent pointers to help us on the day will be key tomorrow.
(Reporter:)
And also there will be a bit of a contrast in the fan support because last time you played in front of 90,000 fans who were all rooting for the Indian team. This time your win could be crucial for the Indian team as well, so they might support you. are you looking forward to it?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Yes, very much, I think we’ve been received nicely in Ahmedabad from a crowd point of view and a fan point of view, so hopefully a lot more.
(Reporter:)
With West Indies having so many power hitters in their line-up and tomorrow being game day, what is ideal, to set them a target or otherwise?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
I couldn’t answer that. We will have to wait until tomorrow to see the conditions and how the skipper feels about it.
(Reporter:)
When you obviously got to the business end of the tournament, you had two really tough wins. I mean, you came back from 24-3 down against India. The match with Afghanistan could have gone either way. So how important is it to enter the final stages of this event when we are battle hardened?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
I think it speaks to the character in the squad and in our team and staff. And that’s a huge thing for us. In previous World Cups, we never went beyond these little moments. So we take small victories and keep building. If this character is strong in winning these small moments, it drives us to go further in this tournament.
(Reporter:)
The spinners dominated throughout the tournament. How about tomorrow’s game? Because tomorrow is also going to be a very crucial match and you are the man who has turned the table upside down as far as India is concerned.
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Look, it didn’t shoot much in India. They were really good goals to be honest. The seamstresses were doing well. I mean someone like Lungi who bowls four overs for 16 runs is almost unheard of here generally on such good wickets – Jasprit from the other side. So yes, West Indies have amazing spinners in Motie and Akila. So I just try to do my job and compliment my fast bowlers. If it’s my time to take wickets then it will be. If not, I’m there to fulfill my role against the fast bowlers, which they did exceptionally well with wickets in the power play, wickets in the middle overs and of course in the deep, they were nice and bright.
(Reporter:)
Talking about the dew factor, it was different than in Sri Lanka. You don’t have that much of a dew factor in the evening in Sri Lanka, but here you can find it in some parts of the world, especially here too. Is the dew factor a consideration for you before so much pressure? what do you think about it?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
yes and no We found that the ground crew apparently sprays a specific chemical on the surface when it comes to the outer field. So even if the dew gets in, the ball doesn’t get wet, which sounds very contradictory. But yes, I think certain parts of India, yes, dew is a huge factor. But in Ahmedabad it was not very important if you look at it. Yeah, the ball still stayed dry because I think with the dew, one of the biggest factors is that the ball slides, which hasn’t happened so far.
(Reporter:)
I just want to ask if you recovered from that rugby match against Corbin Bosch and what you were doing at the time.
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Yeah, the ball went up, I looked at him and he paused, so then I started walking, so I didn’t hear a call or anything like that. I saw him peripherally when I was diving so luckily I pulled myself up otherwise I think I might have missed my jaw but I’m fine. I’m fine
(Reporter:)
you talked about the seamers and how well they bowled and One big theme throughout the World Cup was the spins and the slower balls and stuff, But I’m wondering if you have like a left-arm spinner, do you have any changes like that in different variations or variations and always more lines or can you talk a little bit about that?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Yeah, look, I think because the wicket didn’t help as much as I mean from a spin point of view, it didn’t really spin, to be honest, I just try to be crafty and what I do, whether it’s cheating in the air or using lines and angles, I think as a modern generation helicopter, you can’t be predictable in what you try – in terms of consistency, the wick really spins from where you’re going. So yeah, I just try to work, stay one step ahead of the analytical work that I do before the game and try to implement the strategies that I come up with.
(Reporter:)
You all played a near perfect game against India. Your plans and the execution of the plans came out perfectly. Now you will meet the West Indies. Hetmyer is a danger man as far as West Indies is concerned, is there any such plan and for others how to face his team’s spinners? As you said, there is not much going on here. Skids more than turns. So it slides because of the dew coming onto the pitch where there is no chemical spray?
(Keshav Maharaj:)
Look, we played for two days, yeah, so there wasn’t much of a dew factor. And then the India match, the wicket was very different. Obviously it was slowed down as the game went on so I couldn’t really tell from a skid point of view. Yeah, in terms of plans, I think guys have their own individual plans, which is important because you don’t want to take away from somebody’s natural ability, but find their game plans within their own strengths and find a way through those conversations that happen both with the ball and with the bat.
