"Shamar Joseph's clearly on a mission to keep Test cricket alive" - Fans hail West Indian pacer for sensational five-wicket haul in maiden home Test

West Indian pacer Shamar Joseph continued his brilliant start to Test cricket on Day 1 of the second and final Test against South Africa at Guyana on August 15. Playing in his first Test match at home, the 24-year-old thrilled the fans by picking up a five-wicket haul after the Proteas won the toss and elected to bat first.

Joseph wrecked the South African batting lineup with a double-wicket over, scalping Aiden Markram and skipper Temba Bavuma. He also dismissed the two well-settled batters, David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne for 28 and 21, respectively.

Keshav Maharaj's wicket helped Joseph complete his first five-wicket haul at home and third overall in only his sixth Test. The youngster became a household name after his seven-wicket haul in the second innings against Australia in Brisbane earlier this year, which helped the West Indies secure a memorable eight-run win and a series draw.

He also picked up a five-wicket haul in his debut Test at Adelaide but the West Indies lost that match.

Fans on X celebrated Joseph for his sparkling display of pace bowling with the following reactions:

Fans continued showering praise on the young sensation with one saying:

"5 -fer on debut on home soil, Shamar Joseph a very very serious talent."

"Shamar Joseph can really bring the good days for WI cricket, Performance at the Gabba, 5 wickets at home in Guyana you couldn’t write a better script. What a player," tweeted a fan.

"Surely a series winning spell by Shamar Joseph. I don't even remember the last time Windies defeated SA in a Test series," a fan said.

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Shamar Joseph's heroics leave South Africa in tatters in the second Test

Shamar Joseph's masterful bowling display left South Africa reeling at 97/9 on the opening day of the second Test. With the first Test in Trinidad ending in a draw, the ongoing match at Guyana becomes the series decider.

Joseph missed the first Test but replaced fellow pacer Kemar Roach for this all-important clash. West Indies also received a valuable contribution of three wickets from right-arm pacer Jayden Seales.

However, with the conditions slowly improving for batting, the home side were frustrated by a final-wicket stand between Dane Piedt and Nandre Burger.

The duo added 63 runs to resurrect the sinking South African ship before left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie trapped Burger LBW to bowl the visitors out for 160 in their first essay.