In the one-off Women’s Test match played here on Monday, India crushed South Africa by 10 wickets. Shafali Verma’s fastest double century ever and Sneh Rana’s incredible 8/77 first-inning performance were major factors in the match’s outcome, which saw other records shattered.
In pursuit of an overwhelming Indian first-inning total of 603/6 declared, which was mainly supported by Shafali’s 197-ball 205 and Smriti Mandhana’s 149, off-spinner Rana forced South Africa to settle for 266 after returning career-best numbers.
Middle-order batswoman Nadine de Klerk’s 61 took the visitors to 373, setting the hosts a target of 37 runs.
Shubha Satheesh (13 not out) and Shafali (24 not out) completed the formalities in 9.2 overs.
South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt (122) and former skipper Sune Luus (109) fought with determination in the second innings. India enforced a follow-on with SA still needing 337 runs to erase the deficit.
Brief Scores:
India: 603/6 decl and 37/0 in 9.2 overs.
South Africa: 266 and 373 in 154.4 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 122, Sune Luus 109, Nadine de Klerk 61; Sneh Rana 2/111, Deepti Sharma 2/95, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2/55).
