India v South Africa
This is a very rare one-off test match, due to last four days.
We are supposed not to draw lengthy conclusions from insufficient evidence, but one single day of test-match cricket in Chennai makes us wonder about the future of multi-day women’s cricket.
India finished on a quite massive 525-4.
This is not a record, but the innings continues tomorrow. Perhaps the question could be: will it continue into a third day? Unlikely, but it’s a hundred years since Australian cricket went mad and two state sides topped 1000 runs in a single innings. Now that would be an antidote to `The Hundred!
The opening partnership had reached 292 when Smriti Mandhana fell agonisingly one short of 150. But Shafali Verma, who had faced the first ball, went on to a glorious double hundred (205) at more than a run a ball.
The traditional follow-up to such a partnership is a second wicket falling in quick succession. In fact Shubha Satheesh stayed 25 minutes at the wicket, adding 15
But after her dismissal India continued their remorseless advance. Jemimah Rodrigues made 55 (450-4!), then Harmanpreet Kaur (42*) and Richa Ghosh (43*) added a further 75 runs before the distraught Springboks could seek shelter inside.
Pre-match Thoughts
It has been strange hearing the normally reticent Laura Wolvaardt making her opinions known so publicly. But now she is the captain, it’s her job to face interviews, and she has let the SA authorities know exactly what she thinks about the state of women’s cricket in the republic.
For one thing, she sees a need for much more red-ball cricket. Hear, hear! But that call is like King Canute telling the tide not to advance. The people in charge all around the world work on the premise: the shorter the contest, the better – rather like a one-round bout of boxing. Get the job done, and we can all go home.
We await the second day with more than usual impatience.
Teams
India:
Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Shubha Satheesh, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Pooja Vastrakar, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Renuka Singh
South Africa:
Laura Wolvaardt (captain), Anneke Bosch, Marizanne Kapp, Sune Luus, Delmi Tucker, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Annerie Dercksen, Nonkulueko Mlaba, Masabata Klaas, Tumi Sekhukhune
