Laura Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk heroics on the final day ended in vain as India beat South Africa by 10 wickets in the one-off IDFC First Bank Test Match at the Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday, 1 July, 2024.
The day began with South Africa still trailing India by 105 runs in their second innings, as SA Proteas Women captain Laura Wolvaardt brought up her maiden Test century with a combination of technical skill, mental resilience, and physical stamina.
Having endured a difficult three days, the Proteas batters put on display of steely determination as Wolvaardt and Marizanne Kapp added 32 runs to the overnight total, and Wolvaardt cemented her name in women’s cricket history by becoming the first South African woman to score a century in all three formats of the game at international level.
India weren’t to be denied, though, and once again spin played a critical part in the Indian attack, as Deepti Sharma trapped Kapp (31) LBW in the first session. Delmari Tucker (0) failed to put runs on the board in both innings as she was sent back to the dugout off the bowling of Sneh Rana.
Wolvaardt and Nadine de Klerk put on 15 runs before Wolvaardt’s (122) spectacular innings came to an end at the hands of Rajeshwari Gayakwad. With South Africa on 281/5 and trailing by 56 runs, it was do-or-die time for the Proteas to see out the innings as best they could.
Annerie Dercksen (5), Tumi Sekhukhune (6) and Sinalo Jafta (15) all lost their wickets without making a major impact with the bat, leaving South Africa on 336/8, trailing by a single run at the call of tea.
After play resumed, De Klerk and Masabata Klaas stitched together a 23 run partnership for a lead of 20 runs before Klaas (2) had her stumps send flying by the bowling of Shafali Verma.
De Klerk displayed immense poise and determination as she hit a stunning four to bring up her maiden Test half century for the Proteas, and having settled herself, the versatile allrounder continued to play a pivotal role with the tail, as she and Nonkululeko Mlaba kept the scoreboard ticking, patiently building the SA lead.
But that effort was short-lived as De Klerk (61) eventually had her wicket dismantled off the bowling of Gayakwad, leaving Mlaba (0*) unbeaten as South Africa concluded both innings 266/10 and 373/10 respectively, setting India a chase of 37 runs for victory in the final session of the final day.
Indian openers Shubha Satheesh (13*) and Shafali Verma (24*) played an unbeaten innings as India chased down the target in 9.2 overs, for the hosts to win by 10 wickets.
The Proteas women can hold their heads up high as they were very impressive with the bat in the second innings, and they made India toil hard for the wickets. The momentum will now shift to the three T20 Internationals starting on 5 July in Chennai.
India Beat South Africa by 10 Wickets in the One Off IDFC First Bank Test Match in Chennai from 28 June to 1 July 2024
India 1st Innings
Shafali Verma: 205
Smriti Mandhana: 149
Delmi Tucker: 2/141
Tumi Sekhukhune: 1/70
South Africa 1st Innings
Marizanne Kapp: 74
Sune Luus: 65
Sneh Rana: 8/77
Deepti Sharma: 2/47
South Africa 2nd Innings
Laura Wolvaardt: 122
Sune Luus: 109
Nadine de Klerk: 61
Rajeshwari Gayakwad: 2/55
Deepti Sharma: 2/95
India 2nd Innings
Shafali Verma: 24*
Shubha Satheesh: 13*
Nonkululeko Mlaba: 0/18
Delmari Tucker: 0/19
Proteas Women XI
Laura Wolvaardt
Anneke Bosch
Suné Luus
Marizanne Kapp
Delmi Tucker
Nadine de Klerk
Sinalo Jafta
Annerie Dercksen
Tumi Sekhukhune
Masabata Klaas
Nonkululeko Mlaba
Indian Women XI
Shafali Verma
Smriti Mandhana
Satheesh Shubha
Jemimah Rodrigues
Harmanpreet Kaur (c)
Richa Ghosh (†)
Deepti Sharma
Pooja Vastrakar
Sneh Rana
Renuka Singh
Rajeshwari Gayakwad
Main Photo Caption: Proteas Women skipper Laura Wolvaardt made history by becoming the first South African woman to score a century in each of the three formats, when she powered her way to a debut Test century on the final day 4 of the one-off Test against India in Chennai ended on Monday, 1 July, 2024. Photo: Cricket South Africa
Photo 2 Caption: Nadine de Klerk gave further evidence of her outstanding cricket skills when she brought up a maiden half-century on day 4. Photo: Cricket South Africa
Photo 3 Caption: Tumi Sekhukhune made the most of her second innings, adding a cautious six runs in a partnership of 14 runs off 84 balls with De Klerk. Photo: Cricket SA
Photo 4 Caption: De Klerk scored a pivotal combined 100 runs in her two innings in a key effort to ensure that India had to bat again to earn their win. Photo: Cricket South Africa
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