South Africa’s last trip to India featuring a Test match was nearly a decade back, in November 2014, before the two teams went into red-ball hibernation until the early 2020s. Marizanne Kapp was on debut then, and is currently the only surviving member from that XI. A veteran of 15 years in international cricket, Kapp has only played as many Tests as their 25-year-old captain, Laura Wolvaardt.
This will be India’s third Test match of the season whereas South Africa will be playing their third of this calendar year later at home, but for both teams, Test cricket is still every bit a novelty in the women’s circuit. Albeit devoid of proper context, the one-off Test in Chennai starting Friday (June 28) is a chance for the two teams to renew their rivalry in the traditional format while hoping for it to be a sustained bilateral feature going forward.
“The balls I’ve been cover-driving my whole life, I now need to leave. Which is difficult for me because that just happens on instinct, and sort of having to fight the way that I’ve been batting for my entire career is difficult,” Wolvaardt said in a blunt admission of the challenges ahead of the quick switch to the format that hasn’t featured a whole lot in her playing years, internationally or even domestically. For the Indians, the successful home winter season has witnessed the red-ball cricket seep back into their domestic preparations, in the form of inter-zonal competition last season and a more contextualised upcoming Multi-day Challenger Trophy.
Even with the increasing appetite for women’s Tests, it’s no secret that the white-ball formats take precedence especially in a T20 World Cup year. Players’ workloads perhaps therefore assume greater significance than team balance. It’s why South Africa aren’t yet risking the return of Kapp, the pace spearhead, who hasn’t bowled in competitive cricket since a minor back injury post WPL 2024. India didn’t want their injury-prone frontline pacers to be burnt out either, which explains their shuffle in the preceding ODIs and a late addition to the squad even though the remainder of the series is in spin-friendly climes.
Wolvaardt conceded India are a force to reckon with at home with a potent spin attack that made short work of the ‘Test regulars’ England and Australia barely six months ago. Truth be told, some of the ‘home conditions’ are as unknown to the hosts as the visitors. With almost all of international women’s cricket centred in and around Mumbai since the start of 2022-25 Championship cycle, no member of the current Indian squad has previously played any international cricket in Chennai. With the 2025 ODI World Cup lined up in India, both the ‘home team’ and South Africa will head into the Test match with ulterior motives.
“As a team, it’s a great opportunity for us since we’re getting used to our home conditions. [Because] even though these are home grounds for us, we don’t have much experience [of these grounds],” said Harmanpreet Kaur. “This series should give us a lot of confidence, to see how the wicket is going to behave and what combinations we can look at for the World Cup a year down the line. We’re taking this opportunity with both hands…[and looking to] improve our skills in different [home] conditions.”
When: Starts Friday, June 28, at 9:30 AM IST
Where: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
What to expect: There’s some bit of rain forecast for the latter half of the Test, and cloudy weather for the first. With the practice pitches keeping low and offering ample turn, per Chepauk’s reputation, both captains expect spinners to play a major role as the game progresses. The red-soil pitch sports a very dry look, and is devoid of any grass.
Teams watch
India: The batch of Test ‘specialists’ have been at it since their arrival in the city. The match-eve was an optional session for the bowlers, where Pooja Vastrakar was missing in action amongst the regulars. Meanwhile Renuka Thakur, who was “rested” for the last two of the preceding three-match ODI series, was bowling at full tilt in the nets. Given Chepauk’s spin-friendliness, it’s likely that only one of the two will play with a possible debut in whites for medium-pace allrounder Arundhati Reddy. Richa Ghosh, meanwhile, will don the gloves in Yastika Bhatia’s absence, after having made her Test debut at the Wankhede as a pure batter in place of the injured no. 3 Shubha Satheesh, who in turn is set for a comeback. If Shafali Verma’s lack of runs, albeit in white-ball formats, is a concern for the management, a debut could be likely for Priya Punia who was also seen rolling her arms in the nets even if very briefly.
Probable XI: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma/Priya Punia, Shubha Satheesh, Jemimah Rodrigues, Harmanpreet Kaur (C), Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Arundhati Reddy, Pooja Vastrakar/Renuka Thakur, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
South Africa: Two days out from the match, Marizanne Kapp bowled for about 15 minutes towards the end of South Africa’s net session. Though captain Laura Wolvaardt has all but confirmed that Kapp’s bowling return is unlikely in the first innings, if not in this Test. With Ayabonga Khaka unavailable for the longest format, a debut could be on the cards for Annerie Dercksen. After a couple of years of break, Sune Luus marked a return as an offspinner instead in Game 2 of the ODI series. For an otherwise spin-deficient touring party, her bowling skills would be very handy either way in Chennai.
Probable XI: Laura Wolvaardt (C), Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Tazmin Brits, Marizanne Kapp, Delmi Tucker, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Masabata, Klaas, Tumi Sekhukhune/Annerie Dercksen
Did you know?
– Smriti Mandhana needs 20 runs to be the first among the current Test squad, and ninth overall, to reach 500 runs in the format
– This will only be the second Women’s Test to be played in Chennai, after the second of the six-match series in 1976 which marked the national team’s foray into red-ball cricket internationally
– Chennai last hosted an international women’s game during the 2016 T20 World Cup
What they said?
“If I get the opportunity, definitely yes then. Not only me, nowadays, Smriti [Mandhana] is also bowling. She is also an option if need be. I hope we don’t need her, but there’s that option as well. As players, all of us just want to deliver for the team, be it with the bat or ball.” – India captain Harmanpreet Kaur on chipping in with her offspin in Chennai
“Kapp has sort of been managing her workloads and taking it on a day-to-day basis because we have a pretty big year. With the T20 World Cup in mind, we don’t want to do anything silly when she’s not a 100%. We’ve got a pretty well-organised medical team that’s put in a lot of effort into our training program and workloads. I’m sure they’ll make sure the time is right when she starts bowling again… As things stands, probably not on the first day but the medical team will be assessing on a day-to-day basis for when she’ll be ready for her time to bowl.” – South Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt on Marizanne Kapp’s bowling readiness
