Marizanne Kapp and Sune Luus led a solid fightback from the Proteas women as they reached the close of play on day two on 236-4 in their first innings against India in the one-off test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors still trail the host's record first innings score of 603-6 declared by 367 runs, but they can take plenty of positives out of a solid batting reply when they start again in the morning session on day three.
Kapp was unbeaten at the crease on 69 off 125 balls (8x4) and will hope to maximise that on day three, while Luus was equally impressive in scoring 65 off 164 balls (6x4, 1x6) before she fell in the final session of the days play.
“I think today was one of the hardest sessions we have had batting-wise. The conditions are something you cannot train for back home. It was obviously a great challenge,” said Luus after the close.
“I think the partnership up front with Laura (Wolvaardt) and Anneke (Bosch) set us up nicely taking us into lunch, and then myself and Kappie just going in and grafting. Kappie and Nades (Nadine de Klerk) at the end there staying in to the end of the day was very important.
“So it was a good day for us. The wicket is doing a bit, we aren’t sure which way it (the ball) is going, and the bounce is very uneven. But it was a pretty good day for us and now we need to finish it off tomorrow and the day after.”
The Proteas resumed their innings after tea on 106-2, and Kapp and Luus set about an impressive 93-run third wicket partnership, batting carefully as they eased into the session.
South Africa, with fifties from Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp, put up a fight in reply to India's record 603 for 6 declaredhttps://t.co/hcTcvTUeJj #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/nQHM2RwDzi
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 29, 2024
However in the 46th over Luus received a lifeline just four runs short of her fifty, as she edged a ball from Deepti Sharma to first slip where Sneh Rana dropped the catch.
That allowed Luus to bring up her half-century with a swept four through square leg off Rana, while Kapp also brought up her fifty in style with a straight drive for four of Rajeshwari Gayakwad.
India then struck back with a big double strike, as Sharma trapped Luus LBW and Rana had Delmi Tucker edging behind for an eight-ball duck as the Proteas slipped to 198/4.
De Klerk however came in with an aggressive mindset, and although she got lucky with a ball that bounced sharply and took the edge of her bat, she survived, allowing her to crack five fours in her unbeaten 27 off 28 balls, as she and Kapp took them to the close with an unbeaten 38-run stand.
Earlier in the post-lunch session the Proteas resumed on 29-0 but got off to a disastrous start.
In the second over after the break, having added just four runs to the total, Proteas captain Wolvaardt, who had looked good hitting three fours in a 36-ball 20, was undone by a delivery from Rana that spun in and kept incredibly low to pin her in front LBW.
Bosch (39) and Luus immediately went on the defensive as they scored just 14 runs in the next nine overs before they started to loosen up a bit, with Bosch freeing the shackles with a big six over long-on off Gayakwad in the 18th over to get them past the 50-run mark.
Just as they were looking to be building a promising partnership, Bosch pushed at a ball from Rana that didn’t spin as she seemed to expect it to, getting a big edge to Deepti Sharma at slip to end a 63-run stand and leave them on 97-2., with Kapp and Luus then easing them to the tea break.
In the morning session India continued to break records as they powered their way to the biggest innings total in women’s test history, after resuming at the start of the day on 525/4, they became the first ever women’s team to cross the 600-run threshold.
The previous biggest total in women’s tests was the 575/9 declared that Australia women amassed against the Proteas Down Under in February this year.
The wickets of captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh triggered the declaration, after the two had continued their overnight 75-run stand with both in the 40s, as they soon brought up their half centuries.
Ghosh continued her play as the aggressor, crashing 16 fours in her 90-ball 86, while Kaur was more measured in her 69 off 115 balls (4x4).
Both fell within three overs of each other, Kaur trapped LBW by Tumi Sekhukhune after a successful review by the Proteas, to end the 143-run partnership, while Ghosh was also pinned in front by Nonkululeko Mlaba, soon after they had passed 600, with the declaration following immediately.
Proteas openers Wolvaardt and Bosch then negotiated a tricky six over spell, getting to lunch without losing a wicket.
INDIA WOMEN: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Shubha Satheesh, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Jemima Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Ranuka Singh Thakur, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
PROTEAS WOMEN: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Sune Luus, Marizanne Kapp, Delmi Tucker, Nadine de Klerk, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Annerie Dercksen, Tumi Sekhukhune, Masabata Klaas, Nonkululeko Mlaba