In a display of sheer dominance, India’s opening duo of Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma tore through South Africa’s bowling attack on the first day of their one-off Test in Chennai. Mandhana’s commanding 149 and Verma’s scintillating double century, which had eight sixes in it, propelled India to an imposing 525/4 – the most scored on the opening day of a Test match – at Chepauk.
The day began cautiously for the Indian openers, but once Verma found her groove with a boundary through covers, there was no looking back. The partnership surged to 292 runs, with both batters notching massive centuries. Verma’s aggressive stroke play, including her record-breaking spree of sixes, left the South African bowlers hapless.
While South Africa found a bit of a breather during the lunch break, Mandhana and Verma maintained their onslaught post resumption as well, frustrating South Africa. The boundaries kept coming in a ruthless display and eventually the two batters reached their tons off successive deliveries. Having already smashed two centuries and a 90 in the ODIs, Mandhana had an opportunity to bring up a double ton this time but her march was halted at 149 when she edged one to slip.
However, South Africa’s relief was short-lived as Verma continued her onslaught, smashing back-to-back sixes, followed by a single to reach a remarkable double century. Her relentless assault and Jemimah Rodrigues’ brisk contribution compounded South Africa’s misery on a day dominated by India’s batting prowess. It needed a run out for South Africa to end Verma’s onslaught and shortly after, Rodrigues fell after going past fifty.
As the sun set on an extraordinary day for the home side, India continued to pile on the runs, going past 500 in the process as Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh took full toll of a tiresome bowling attack. The 525 runs they put up by stumps is the highest opening day score ever in Women’s Test history, by a fair distance.
Brief scores: India525/4 (Shafali Verma 205, Smriti Mandhana 149, Jemimah Rodrigues 55) vs South Africa
