On the fifth day of the Port Elizabeth Test (20th January), while the visitors England were dominating, they also became a part of an unwanted record. English Test captain Joe Root became the part of joint-most conceding runs off one over in Test cricket history while the South African cricketer Keshav Maharaj was in the other end as a batsman.
It was not a memorable Test match for South Africa as they lost this crucial third Test of the four-match Test series by an innings and 53 runs. They started this Port Elizabeth Test with the series scoreline of 1-1 as South Africa won the first Test by 107 runs (at Centurion) and England beat the hosts in the second game by 189 runs (at Cape Town).
But in the third Test, the visitors totally dominated and clinched the series-leading victory (2-1), which also put them to the safest zone as they can’t lose this series. While England scored 499/9 decl, the hosts were bundled out for 209 and 237 runs in the back-to-back innings. However, on the first session of the last day of this game, South Africa entered their name to the record books.
Keshav Maharaj hit 24 runs to Joe Root, four runs were added from the byes
It was the 82nd over of South Africa’s second innings of this Test when English spinner Joe Root came to bowl against the Proteas batsman Keshav Maharaj. The sequence of that over was as follows:
81.1 overs: Root to Maharaj – Four
81.2 overs: Root to Maharaj – Four
81.3 overs: Root to Maharaj – Four
81.4 overs: Root to Maharaj – Six
81.5 overs: Root to Maharaj – Six
81.6 overs: Root to Maharaj – Four (byes)
Though Root conceded 24 runs as the same runs were scored by Maharaj, the hosts managed to score a total of 28 runs in that over. It is the joint-most conceding runs off one over in Test cricket history as it happened twice more before this incident.
Most runs off one over in Test cricket history
| Runs | Batsman (Team) | Bowler (Team) | Venue | Year |
| 28 (4,6,6,4,4,4) | Brian Lara (West Indies) | Robin Peterson (South Africa) | Johannesburg | December 2003 |
| 28 (4,6,2,4,6,6) | George Bailey (Australia) | James Anderson (England) | Perth | December 2013 |
| 28 (4,4,4,6,6,4b) | Keshav Maharaj (South Africa) | Joe Root (England) | Port Elizabeth | January 2020 |
| 27 (6,6,6,6,2,1) | Shahid Afridi (Pakistan) | Harbhajan Singh (India) | Lahore | January 2006 |