Sports

Shafali breaks two tons on a day that breaks record

On a historic day of play in the one-off women’s Test match between South Africa and India on Friday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, numerous records were broken. On a normally muggy first day of play, India amassed the highest score of any team in a day’s play in Test cricket (men or women) with a massive 525/4 in 98 overs.

The fastest before Friday was Australian Annabel Sutherland’s 248-ball effort against South Africa earlier in the year. Shafali (20) became the first woman to score 200+ runs in a day when she scored 205 off 197 balls before being bowled out in the last session. She is now one of only two Indian women with double hundreds in history, along with batting great Mithali Raj.

To some extent, Shafali’s daring knock eclipsed Smriti Mandhana’s 149, although Mandhana also contributed to India’s complete dominance. The opening partnership between the two was 292 runs, which is the second-highest for any wicket in women’s Test cricket.

There was nothing on the surface for the South African pacers to take advantage of while the Indian hitters were having a field day, except for the first hour of play when they managed to find some movement. After Shafali and Smriti gained some insight and a decent understanding of the circumstances, they took a decisive action against the bowlers. Particularly in the afternoon, India’s hitters accelerated with style. In the session, they lost just two wickets while scoring 204 runs in 32 overs. Had Shafali scored ten more runs, her total would have exceeded Raj’s 214 to become the best individual score by an Indian woman.

After the day’s play, Shafali expressed her excitement by saying, “The ball was coming onto the bat nicely.”

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In the extended format, Shafali’s work might provide the breakthrough she’s been looking for. This was the first three-figure score she had achieved in her fifth Test. She did come so close to making her debut in a 2021 match at Bristol against England before being dismissed on 96. Although the ladies don’t play Tests very often, Shafali will be able to establish herself as the top player thanks to this.

“I was thinking back to my first Test, when I was batting at 96, and I got out at the same score. I decided to take it slow and carefully score the final four runs before pushing it farther. My preparation for the Test was greatly aided by the NCA batting camp.