Indian women’s cricket has seen some historic moments in the red ball format, from making their test debut in 1976 against West Indies to memorable performances against top-notch teams. The Indian women’s cricket has evolved over the years with some unforgettable performances in the longest format. In this article, we will go through the top five performances of the Indian women’s Test side.
India women’s teams’ top five Test outings:
India vs South Africa Women’s Test, June 2024
India hosted South Africa in the one-off Test during South Africa’s all-format tour to India. The only Test was played at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Opting to bat first, the Indian duo of Smriti Mandhana & Shafali Verma provided a perfect start with a record-breaking 292-run stand for the first wicket with Shafali Verma going on to score 205, which was later well supported by India’s middle-order batters with Indian team declaring at 603/6 in the first innings. South Africa was bundled out for 266 in the second innings with Sneh Rana claiming an eight-fer, taking the spotlight, which led to a follow-on. The South African showed some fightback following Laura Wolvaardt & Sune Luus’ centuries but were folded for 373 with the Indian team chasing just 37 without losing a wicket. Sneh Rana was the player of the match who scalped a ten-fer in India’s dominating victory over South Africa.
India vs Australia Women’s Test, December 2023
The one-off Test was played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium when the Australian team toured India for an all-format series. Batting first, Australia was bowled out for 219 following India’s duo of Pooja Vastrakar & Sneh Rana claiming four & three wickets respectively. The host batted with excellence in the first innings, following Smriti Mandhana’s resilient 74 at the top, Richa Ghosh, Jemimah Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma scored fifties to put India in a commanding position and were bowled out for a score of 406. Australia was trailing by 187 runs, but it was Sneh Rana’s bowling artistry that put the visitors on the backfoot. The crafty off-spinner claimed a four-fer in the following innings with Australia being bowled out for 261 with Tahlia McGrath the top scorer with 74 runs. India chased the target of 75 comfortably to register a historic win over the Australian side. It was the Indian team’s first victory over Australia in 11 games since 1977. Sneh Rana ended the match with overall figures of 7 for 119 which also earned her player of the match.
India vs England Women’s Test, June 2021
The Indian team was on an all-format tour to England and the series commenced with a one-off Test at Bristol, India’s first since 2014. Heather Knight led England elected to bat first and put on an impressive batting display with the top order providing a foundation. The English skipper Heather Knight was the top scorer with 95 runs and was well supported by Tammy Beaumont and Sophia Dunkley’s fifties with England declaring a score of 396. The Indian team had a mountain of a task, but the Indian openers provided an outstanding start with a partnership of 167 runs before Shefali Verma was dismissed for 96 missing out on her century by four runs. But what followed was a collapse as from 167 for 1, India was bowled out for 231 following Sophie Ecclestone’s four wickets. The England team enforced a follow-on and in India’s 2nd innings, Shafali Verma scored another fifty and Deepti Sharma’s 54 kept India in the hunt. However, they were in trouble, losing eight wickets with 240 on the board but what followed was a splendid batting performance by debutant Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia who were involved in an unbeaten 104-run stand for the ninth wicket which led to a famous draw from a situation in which India were on the verge of losing the Test. Shafali Verma was awarded as the player of the match.
India vs South Africa Women’s Test, November 2014
South Africa was on an all-format tour of India in 2014, and the one-off Test was played at Mysore. The host elected to bat first and opening the innings, Thirush Kamini’s marathon 430-ball 192 helped India post 400 on the board and declared the innings. The visitors were folded in their first innings for 234 as Harmanpreet Kaur claimed a fifer, supported by Rajeshwari Gayakwad’s four wickets. The Indian team enforced a follow on & it was Harmanpreet Kaur’s off-spin that troubled the visitors who were folded for 132 with India winning the match by an innings & 34 runs.
India vs England Women’s Test, December 2023
England was on a multi-format tour to India which included the T20I series and a one-off Test at Wankhede. Electing to bat first, India scored 428 runs in the first innings with key contributions from the middle-order. England was outclassed while batting, bowled out for 136 with all-rounder Deepti Sharma claiming a fifer. In the third innings, the India team declared for a score of 186, setting the target of 479 against the visitors. It was Indian spinners who dominated once again to register a mountainous 347-run win. Deepti Sharma earned the player of the match for her all-round contributions.
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