Heads held high: Wolvaardt & Co. can be proud of their showing against a dominant India.
| Photo Credit: JOTHI RAMALINGAM B
The one-off Test between India and South Africa that concluded here on Monday provided another reason for the women’s game to have more international Tests.
The match had everything one would want from a hard-fought multi-day game: individual brilliance, gritty performances, and challenging conditions.
On the opening day, India’s Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana starred with the bat, slamming a double century and a century, respectively, to set the tone for the game.
Later, off-spinner Sneh Rana weaved her magic to claim her — eventually match-winning — maiden ten-wicket haul (ten for 188). That included her career-best figures of eight for 77 in the first innings, where she took five of the last six wickets on the third morning.
Though the headline would record India’s comprehensive 10-wicket win, the story is more complex. For starters, the women don’t play many multi-day games at the domestic level. While India was relatively better prepared, having revived the zonal multi-day tournament earlier this year, the Proteas do not play any such games back home.
So once India made a record 603 for six decl. in the first essay, the general feeling was when and not if the home team would win and if the game would last four days.
But the South Africans held their own on the second day before eventually collapsing, conceding a 337-run lead the next day. Asked to follow-on, not many would have expected the visitor to overhaul the deficit.
However, skipper Laura Wolvaardt and Sune Luus did not throw in the towel easily, scoring valiant centuries. The South Africans had a method to play on the backfoot as the slow nature of the surface allowed them the time to adjust to the turn, and they stuck to it.
Though a few batters got trapped in front when the ball kept low, they did not panic or deviate from the plans. Eventually, South Africa managed to get ahead by 36 runs and forced the game into the final session on the last day.
In elite sports, there are no moral victories; the record books only register wins and losses.
However, this fixture had something for everyone. India underscored its recent dominance in Tests, marking the side’s third win, seven months after triumphing over England and Australia last year. South Africa, meanwhile, came out with heads held high, showing why boards worldwide should invest in the longer format.
