Sneh Rana removes both the openers after India post a record highest total. The experienced duo of Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp lead a resilient Proteas response.
The home side, India completely dominated the first day’s play by posting a massive, record-breaking total on the opening day of a women’s Test match. The overnight duo of skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh resumed on day two with India’s score at 525/4. Tumi Sekhukhune picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to break a massive 143-run 5th wicket stand. India eventually declared the innings at 603/6 in the 116th over of the innings. Shafali Verma (205 off 197 balls), Smriti Mandhana (149 off 161 balls), wicket-keeper batter Richa Ghosh (86 off 90 balls), skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (69 off 115 balls), and Jemimah Rodrigues (55 off 94 balls) were the top performers with the bat for India.
Delmi Tucker (26-1-141-2), Nonkululeko Mlaba (26.1-1-122-1), Tumi Sekhukhune (14-0-70-1), and Nadine de Klerk (12-1-79-1). The South African openers Anneke Bosch and skipper Laura Wolvaardt got off to a positive start, with a 33-run opening partnership, scoring over four runs an over. Sneh Rana picked up the big wicket of the opposition skipper Laura Wolvaardt to provide the first breakthrough for India.
Sune Luus joined Anneke Bosch at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 63-run partnership for the 2nd wicket. Sneh Rana came back and picked up the wicket of Anneke Bosch to provide the 2nd breakthrough for her side. Marizanne Kapp joined Sune Luus at the crease and one of the most experienced campaigners for the Proteas displayed a remarkable amount of resilience and determination to keep the Indian bowlers at bay.
Deepti Sharma picked up the wicket of Sune Luus to provide the much-needed 3rd breakthrough for India. Delmi Tucker soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 4th breakthrough for India. She completed her well-deserved half-century (65 off 164 balls) before getting dismissed. It is also her career-best score in the red-ball format. Nadine de Klerk joined Marizanne Kapp at the crease and the duo took a proactive approach, trying to take the Indian bowlers on, staging a solid response.
The pair saw the day through unseparated with an unbeaten 38-run stand. South Africa ended the day on 236/4 in 72 overs. The visitors, South Africa are trailing India by 367 runs. South Africa still needs 217 runs to avoid a follow-on.