Keshav Maharaj's ‘Jai Shree Hanuman’ comment after defeating Pakistan goes viral; see post

South Africa's Keshav Maharaj, who scored the winning runs against Pakistan on Friday, took to Instagram to celebrate his team's stunning victory. In his post, which has now gone viral, Maharaj wrote 'Jai Shri Hanuman' in the caption and shared the pics of his celebration.

He wrote, "In God I Trust. what a special result by the boys, awesome to see the performances from @shamsi90 & @aidenmarkram. Jai Shree Hanuman."    

The South African spinner wasn't supposed to be ready for the World Cup in the first place. But he made a remarkable return after injuring his heal a few months before the World Cup in India. On Friday, in front of almost 30,000 fans in Chennai, he delivered a remarkable innings. He along with No.11 Tabraiz Shamsi at the other end needed 11 off 27 balls to make South Africa win. Maharaj held his nerve to hit unbeaten 10 that helped the South Africans reach 271-9 against Pakistan who too needed a win to stay alive in the tournament. 

Earlier, Pakistan made 270 on the back of half-centuries from Saud Shakeel (52) and captain Babar Azam (50) before getting bowled out in 47.2 overs.

"I think it was a surreal moment," Maharaj said after South Africa's one-wicket triumph. "You always dream of winning games for your country, but winning games in a World Cup...it's very special. Those are the moments that you cherish, building up towards the tournament," he added.

"To be honest, there were a lot of thoughts running through my head. I was just watching the ball and fortunate enough I was in a position where I could just score and place it in the gap."

Maharaj, who has his roots in India, has visited many temples in southern regions of the country upon his arrival for the World Cup tournament. He is known to be an ardent believer of Lord Hanuman.

With this win, South Africa are at the top of the ICC points table with 10 points. However, Pakistan are on the 6th place with 4 points. Pakistan have now four losses in a row and have three matches to go before the semi-final round.

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