Keshav Maharaj said the hard work put in as he went wicketless through Bangladesh’s first innings, paid dividends after he took 7-32 in the second to lead SA to a commanding 220-run victory on Monday.

Left-arm spinner Maharaj bowled 37 overs without reward in Bangladesh’s opening total of 298, but was devastatingly effective in helping restrict them to a paltry 53 in pursuit of their victory target of 274.

He became SA’s most successful spinner since the country’s readmission to the international arena in 1991, moving past Paul Adams’s previous best mark of 134 Test wickets to take his tally to 141...