Lunch West Indies 149 and 109 for 6 (Blackwood 5*, Roach 1*, Maharaj 3-15, Rabada 3-38) trail South Africa 298 and 174 (van der Dussen 75*, Roach 4-52) by 214 runs
Keshav Maharaj took a hat-trick to put South Africa four wickets away from a first series win away from home in more than four years, since they beat New Zealand in March 2017. Kagiso Rabada got the early wickets, but Maharaj put South Africa well in front just before lunch, sending back Kieran Powell, Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva off successful deliveries to all but wipe out any chances the home side might have had of salvaging something from the game.
After setting West Indies 324 runs to win the second Test, South Africa's attack made steady progress. Rabada and Anrich Nortje opened the bowling on the fourth morning and immediately threatened. Nortje almost bowled Kraigg Brathwaite with a delivery that he inside-edged just shy of the stumps and then lured Powell into a drive and beat him. But it was at the other end that the incisions were made.
Brathwaite's defence was breached when he came half-forward to defend a length ball from Rabada but only managed an outside edge. Dean Elgar took the catch at first slip to end a poor series for the West Indian captain and a poor series for opening partnerships on the whole. Brathwaite has managed 28 runs in four Tests, with a top score of 15, while the average opening stand across both teams is 8.14. Only three series in the history of Test cricket have had lower averages for the opening stand.
Rabada kept up the fuller lengths but two overs later, held his length back against Shai Hope, who could not decide between ducking and fending and ended up lobbing the ball to Aiden Markram at second slip. South Africa appealed and then reviewed, with replays confirming Hope had gloved the ball. Rabada could have had two-in-two when he hit Kyle Mayers on the front pad with a full-toss and umpire Joel Wilson gave Mayers out lbw, but Rabada had overstepped.
That bought some extra time for Roston Chase, who remained in the dressing room with an ice pack on his thigh, after he had injured his quad in the field on the third day. Chase was due to bat at No. 4 but did not come in then, and his participation in the match remains in doubt. Twenty minutes before lunch, Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed his condition has improved slightly and he was being assessed by the medical staff.
For now, Chase has not been called to action. Powell reached his highest Test score since October 2018, nine innings ago, and showed confidence against Nortje's short ball. When Nortje was replaced by Lungi Ngidi, who pitched it up, Powell drove with intent to bring up West Indies' fifty. Ngidi went on to have an eventful first spell. He pulled his length back and beat Powell several times, was warned for running on the pitch and then suffered a cut to his left hand when he fielded a Powell drive in his follow-through. Ngidi returned to cmplete that over and bowled one more before he was replaced by Nortje.
Powell and Mayers made decent progress and their partnership grew to 64, the best for West Indies in the match so far, before Mayers top-edged an attempted pull off Rabada, which flew over the slips. Elgar chased it and completed the catch to give Rabada a third in the session. Powell brought up fifty two overs later, albeit in risky fashion. First, he top-edged Rabada over the slips and then edged him through third man.
He would have wanted to take West Indies through to lunch but, ten minutes before the break, he swept Maharaj to Nortje at deep midwicket. Maharaj then had Holder caught by Keegan Petersen at short leg off his next ball to deepen West Indies' troubles. And then came the icing on the cake, Wiaan Mulder grabbing the chance at leg slip off a Da Silva fend.
Keshav Maharaj
Kagiso Rabada
Kieran Powell
South Africa
West Indies
South Africa vs West Indies
ICC World Test Championship
South Africa tour of West Indies
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent
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