Kagiso Rabada picked up six for 50 to bowl South Africa to an 87-run victory over West Indies in the first Test at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday.
After bowling out the hosts for 116 in the morning, West Indies needed 247 to win but were dismissed for just 159.
The only resistance of note came from Jermaine Blackwood who made a gutsy 79 before being ninth man out.
Jermaine Blackwood’s thrilling counterattack – 79 off 93 balls – raised West Indies’ hopes, but Rabada found a little extra kick off the pitch to take him out.
It was Roach who had set the scene for the day with his 11th five-for in Test cricket – and first away from home since 2017.
He also surpassed Joel Garner’s tally of 259 to become West Indies’ fifth-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
Just before lunch, Roach was warmly welcomed back by his team-mates, Jimmy Adams, West Indies’ director of cricket, and Brian Lara, the team mentor.
However, the mood and tempo of the match changed quickly when Rabada struck either side of the lunch break After having captain Kraigg Brathwaite caught down the leg side for a duck.
The mid-session kicked off on an ominous note for South Africa when Keegan Peterson dived across at third slip and shelled a simple catch, reprieving Tagenarine Chanderpaul on nought.
But with the pitch offering consistent help to the seamers, the opportunities were abound. Rabada soon returned the wicket of Raymon Reifer, who batted well in the first innings but drove away from the body on this occasion and offered a catch behind.
Marco Jansen then lit up the session with his first over, picking Chanderpaul and Roston Chase off consecutive balls. Chanderpaul, having been kept quiet by Rabada and Anrich Nortje, mistimed a pull to midwicket whereas Roston Chase misjudged a ball and left it onto his stumps.
The wicket of Kyle Mayers – edging a bouncing length ball behind – further dented the West Indies and reduced them to 33/3 but Jermaine Blackwood’s counterattack came in handy at that point in time.
He continued to regularly pump the ball over the top, running away to a 51-ball half-century. At the other end, Joshua Da Silva was more circumspect and contributed 17 to a 58-run sixth-wicket partnership before he fell to Rabada.
Jason Holder also operated at almost a run-a-ball in a 37-run seventh-wicket stand with Blackwood before Rabada had him nicking behind with a perfectly-pitched delivery.
Though Rabada looked like wasn’t at his best earlier in the day, his seven-over spell post tea, in which he dismissed both Holder and Blackwood, was perhaps the most decisive passage of play.
Brathwaite said after the match: “I think as a batting unit only batting over 100 overs in both innings, that was a miss. We should have batted 100 overs, we would have been in a better position. Some balls very keeping low, so it had a lot of in it for the bowlers. Should have done better as a batting unit. The bowlers pulled it back together in the last session on Day 1. The bowlers restricted them to under 120 today, that was a top effort. There is not much you can do. We have practice sessions, but I think you need to deal with it mentally. We got to be clear on which balls to play, which balls to leave. It’s all mental, we can’t practice that. The guys need to carry their starts and convert into big scores. Very proud of the bowlers. They need to rest and come back strong in the second Test.”