One-off Test: Shafali Verma, Smriti and Sneh Rana propel India to 10-wicket victory over South Africa

Chennai: India women’s team defeated South Africa by 10 wickets in the one-off Test at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium on Monday. Chasing the target of 37 runs, Indian openers Shafali Verma (24 not out) and Shubha Satheesh (13 not out) took the hosts to a comfortable victory.

South African batters demonstrated exceptional mental resilience, fighting back against a formidable Indian bowling attack to stay in the game as they finished the third day of a one-off women’s Test against India at 232 for 2 but only to get bowled out early in the fourth and final day on 373. Sneh Rana, who claimed eight wickets in the first inning went on to take two more to become only the second Indian bower after Jhulan Goswami to finish with 10 wickets in a women’s Test.

Chasing the target of 37 runs, India closed the game in half an hour as Shafali Verma (24) and Shubha Sateesh (17) took the hosts to a 10-wicket victory.

Earlier, India declared their first inning at a mammoth 603/6, placing immense pressure on South Africa.  Rana, exploiting the turn and bounce from the pitch, finished 8-85 and South Africa bowled out for 266 in the first innings.

India enforced the follow-on with a significant lead of 337 runs, putting South Africa under immense pressure. They faced an early setback when Deepti Sharma trapped Anneke Bosch lbw in the first over. However, South Africa’s fighting spirit shone through as Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus stitched together a monumental partnership. The duo batted through 66 overs across the second and third sessions, building a 190-run stand—the highest partnership for any wicket in South African women’s Test history. Brief scores: India 603/6 decl in 115.1 overs and  37/0 in 9.2 overs (Shafali Verma 24 not, Shubha Satheesh 13 not out) beat South Africa 266 & 232/2 in 88 overs (Sune Luus 109 not out, Laura Wolvaardt 93 (IANS)

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