Shafali, Mandhana dominate South Africa on historic opening day in Chennai

Shafali, Mandhana dominate South Africa on historic opening day in Chennai 

The 292-run opening stand helped India's top six pile on 525 runs, the most in a day of Test cricket

India 525 for 4 (Shafali 205, Mandhana 149, Tucker 2-141) vs South Africa

The gulf between India and South Africa in red-ball cricket could not be more evident. Shafali Verma demolished the bowlers with an extraordinary 205. Smriti Mandhana carried forward her ODI form from Bengaluru into the one-off Test in Chennai with a brilliant 149. Jemimah Rodrigues oozed class in her third half-century in this format. India blunted South Africa's attack, accumulating a crazy number of runs, 525 precisely, the most runs in a day's play by any team in Test history.

Opting to bat on a red-soil surface, India adopted the cautious approach in the first hour - where they did not hit the full tosses to boundaries - before motoring along to score 130 in the morning session. South Africa bowled well in patches and struggled for a majority of the time to hit the right lengths. The first real chance came when Marizanne Kapp spilled a half-chance when Mandhana pushed one to midwicket on 33. Mandhana and Shafali though eased up and put away the bad deliveries to boundaries.

But it was the afternoon session where India accelerated. They scored 204 runs in 32 overs and lost just two wickets. Shafali, scoring her maiden double Test hundred, picked her gaps well, scoring 142 runs on the on side. Five of her eight sixes were hit towards long-on and eight fours were launched towards square leg and long-on. After a poor run in the ODIs where she got dismissed trying to take on the bowlers early on, Shafali looked assured in whites on Friday, during her 197-ball knock and a record 292-run stand with Mandhana.

Mandhana, who also struck at a healthy strike rate of 92.54, slammed 27 fours and one six in her 161-ball innings. Her eye-pleasing cover drives were the highlight of the innings, fetching her 11 fours. However, whenever the likes of Nadine de Klerk and Masabata Klass dropped the length short, she was quick to pull it away to square leg and midwicket for fours. The duo reached three figures on consecutive balls in the 39th and 40th overs. For Mandhana, it was her third hundred in four international games across formats.

It took 52 overs for South Africa to break the opening stand when Mandhana nicked one to first slip while trying to get a single to reach 150. Shafali, however, marched on, using her strong wrists to keep the scorecard ticking at a quick pace.

Satheesh Shubha, who missed the last Test against Australia in December due to a fractured finger, looked solid in her 27-ball 15 but edged one to wicketkeeper Sinalo Jafta at the stroke of tea. India were 334 for 2 at the end of the second session.

In the final session, alongside Rodrigues, Shafali converted her 150 to 200 with a push to long-off in the 73rd as the 3000-odd crowd at Chepauk rose in applause. The duo put on a brisk 86 runs off 91 balls where Shafali contributed 48 runs off 31 balls and Rodrigues 38 off 60. However, a mix-up in the 75th over ended Shafali's stay. Chennai can be a harsh place for long-format games and tests even the best athlete's endurance. The 20-year-old Shafali, not only survived the hot and humid day but also thrived in her first international game at this venue.

That South Africa toiled, to contain and pick up wickets, was evident when Laura Wolvaardt asked seven of her players to bowl. It even took the captain more than 80 overs to bring in an experienced Sune Luus, now shifting from legspin to offspin. However, even Luus went for five runs an over in her three-over burst. The surface offered some turn towards the end of the day's play but otherwise, there was limited movement in the air and seam off the surface for bowlers in the morning session.

Rodrigues made 55, while Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on 42 and 43 respectively. Delmi Tucker, having bowled 26 overs, picked up two wickets for South Africa. But the day truly belonged to India's youngest player in their XI.