IND-W vs SA-W, One-off Test: Shafali Verma, Smriti Mandhana maraud South Africa as India plunders 525/4 on Day 1

South African captain Laura Wolvaardt is a doctor in training alongside a flourishing career in cricket. However, she could do nothing to revive a flatlining performance on the field from her players as India smashed its way to 525/4 in 98 overs on day one of the one-off Test between the two nations at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday. 

Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana vindicated skipper Harmanpreet Kaur’s decision to bat first, stitching a gargantuan opening stand of 292 runs, the highest opening partnership in women’s Tests, the highest stand for India in any position in the format and the second-highest partnership in the women’s international red-ball history. Shafali, coming into this game after a lean patch in ODIs, could not have asked for a better way to get among the runs, finishing with a 197-ball 205. 

After a slow start in the first eight to ten overs, a meek South African bowling attack with barely any venom in its fangs offered little to no resistance to India as the openers piled on the runs. Smriti and Shafali’s left-hand-right-hand combination exploited the shorter side of the ground with elan, scoring at a brisk rate of over five runs an over at one point. 

The Indian vice captain’s purple patch in this series is in the pink of health, evidenced by her nonchalant swipes to the fence and fluent placement in the gaps. Her textbook elegance paired perfectly with Shafali’s composure at the other end. 

In the second session, more than a tussle with the opposition, the battle was between the two Indian openers, to see who would get to their century first. Smriti and Shafali went toe to toe with their strokeplay. On getting to 90, Shafali sent a tossed-up delivery from Delmi Tucker over the long-on fence for six. With four left to get to her maiden ton, she tried to cut the ball square to the fence but didn’t connect.

Shafali managed to calm her nerves and get to 98 off two singles after which she swatted a short ball from Nonkululeko Mlaba to fine leg boundary to register her maiden Test ton. The emotions washed over Shafali’s face for a few seconds as she pulled her helmet off and raised her bat to the crowd and then to the sky. She took 113 balls to get to the century mark, the fastest in women’s Test. 

Smriti followed her with her own century a couple of minutes later, doing it in the simplest of fashions with a single. She has now scored a 90-plus score in every single innings against the Proteas in this series, with three hundreds in four outings across two formats. 

India’s Smriti Mandhana during the one-off Test against South Africa.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B/The Hindu

It took a little over the equivalent of one ODI inning for South Africa to find its first breakthrough. One run away from 150, Smriti edged a length delivery going outside off stump from Tucker to Sinalo Jafta behind the stumps. She trudged back fully aware of how avoidable that shot choice was, to applause from the stands and the dressing room. 

Shubha Satheesh, returning to the Indian Test team for the first time since her debut game against England in December, went back at the stroke of tea after edging to the keeper off Nadine de Klerk’s bowling after a 27-ball 15. 

Jemimah Rodrigues joined Shafali in the middle and the pair tormented the Proteas some more.

Shafali quickly scurried past the 150 mark and began dealing in boundaries which included four shots along the ground to the fence and three monstrous sixes. She thumped two of those over long on and then took a single off Tucker to bring up her maiden 200. Looking in fine touch.

India’s Shafali Verma celebrates after scoring 200.
| Photo Credit:
JOTHI RAMALINGAM B/The Hindu

Shafali was 14 runs away from levelling with Mithali Raj for the highest individual score by an Indian woman in Tests, however, a mix-up with Jemimah helped Jafta knock the bails off with Shafali short of her crease. Jemimah tapped the ball to mid-on while Shafali hesitated to run, presumably blocked by the bowler. Jemimah had already made it to the nonstriker’s end prompting Shafali to run for her life to make it in time, but in vain. Several Proteas players came forward to applaud her effort as she walked back to the sound of applause from a crowd on its feet. 

Jemimah brought up her fifty but fell soon after holing out to de Klerk at extra cover off Tucker’s bowling on 55. 

Skipper Harmanpreet and Richa Ghosh brought the curtains down on day one with an unbeaten 75-run stand for the fifth wicket to put India firmly in control of proceedings in the one-off Test.

South Africa came into this game with a seam-heavy attack, with the paucity of effective spin resources proving to be its Achilles heel at the venue. The visitor’s dugout had plenty of tired faces but Laura Wolvaardt and Co. will need to find a way to bundle out the host and make a case for saving the match come Saturday.