Maharaj, the South African left-arm spinner, was in sensational form, emerging as the Proteas' most potent weapon during their two-match home Test series win against Bangladesh.
While Pooran was set to re-join the club for the T20 Blast, left-arm spinner Maharaj was due to play the first couple of matches in the county championship.
South Africa produced a disciplined bowling performance, making scoring difficult on a pitch which always offered something to the bowlers with some sideways movement and uneven bounce.
George Linde has been announced as the replacement after Keshav Maharaj injured his right-shoulder on day two of the second test.
India’s catching was absolutely spot on in the second innings with wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha taking a couple of brilliant catches. The one-handed stunner down the leg side to dismiss Theunis de Bruyn deserves a special mention.
Ace India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin picked up four wickets to pour cold water on Maharaj's career-best score as the visitors' first innings folded for 275.
Ashwin finished with best innings figures of 4/69 including the wickets of Proteas skipper Faf du Plessis who scored 64, Quinton e Kock (31) and Kagiso Rabada (2) in the end.
This is the first time that South Africa are playing a Test series in India since 2015. They had lost the four-match series 3-0 back then.
The orthodox left-arm spinner with 94 wickets from 25 Tests had a successful county performance and is hoping to make life "uncomfortable" for the Indian top-order.
