Suné Luus hails Keshav Maharaj’s ‘masterclass’ sessions after Proteas Women sail into a 2-0 lead

Sune Luus believes the influence of Keshav Maharaj has given the Proteas Women a crucial edge after their commanding victory over India women's national cricket team in the second T20I of the five-match series in Durban on Sunday.

All-rounder Luus, who struck a composed half-century after being promoted to open the batting, was quick to credit the bowlers as the foundation of South Africa’s back-to-back wins – restricting the star-studded Indian batting line-up to fewer than 160 runs on both occasions.

“Our bowlers have been phenomenal the last two games,” she said.

“They’ve kept their plans very simple. We know how powerful their batters are, but we’ve used the slower balls and the conditions really well. They’ve done an extremely good job to keep them quiet.”

A key factor behind that discipline, according to Luus, has been the presence of Proteas Men’s star spinner Maharaj in the camp – a move that has paid immediate dividends, especially for the spinners, including Luus, Sunday’s Player of the Match Chloe Tryon and Nonkululeko Mlaba.

“Our inside man, Keshav, he knows the conditions very well. It's been awesome to work with him," Luus said. "I think sometimes a coach can be repetitive and thinks he knows everything, but coming from a number one bowler in the world, we just absorbed everything he was saying over the last couple of days. It was phenomenal to have him in the camp, just his experience as well.

"Obviously, he’s a Durban boy, so he knew the conditions very well. I think that definitely worked in our favour,” she said.

Luus, and skipper and fellow opening batter, Laura Wolvaardt, also went out hard in Sunday’s pursuit of 147.

“I think we always want to play with intent,” Luus explained.

“Whether we’re chasing 90, 140 or 200, the power play is where you try and maximise. Laura and I tried to take that on, and even when the field spread, we didn’t want to lose that intent.”

She added that her growing partnership with Wolvaardt is helping her settle into a relatively new role at the top of the order.

“I’m still new to opening, but it’s a lot of fun. Batting with Laura, with all her experience, against an opposition like India – it doesn’t get any better than that.

“I think I’ve been hitting the ball well all season. It’s been frustrating not to get those big scores, but it’s been awesome to contribute in every game I’ve been part of and to keep hitting the ball as well as I can. It’s only a matter of time before knocks like these come.”

Despite holding a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, Luus insisted there is no danger of complacency creeping into the South African camp, with the bigger picture being the T20 World Cup in England later this year. The next match in the series takes place at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

“We know there’s a bit of rain around in Johannesburg, so anything can happen. It could possibly be a shortened game, and that brings excitement as well … but at the end of the day, it’s another game to prepare for the World Cup, and we’re taking it like that,” she concluded.