India completed a comfortable victory by 10-wickets in their one-off Women’s Test match against South Africa with openers Shafali Verma (24*) and Shubha Satheesh making light work of their fourth innings target of 37 to complete the task with 18 overs of the final day to spare.
Proteas women captain Laura Wolvaardt notched up her maiden Test century before her team were finally dismissed for 373 in their follow-on innings for a slender lead of 36 runs leaving India to chase 37 for victory in 28 overs in the final session of their one-off Test match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday afternoon.
The victory comes on the back of 3-0 sweep in the ODI series and was set up by their record first innings score of 603-6 in which player-of-the-match Verma made 205 and Smriti Mandhana 149 in an opening stand of 292 from which the valiant Proteas never really recovered.
The Proteas batted for a mighty 154.4 overs in their second, follow-on innings with Nadine de Klerk reaching her maiden Test 50 from 174 balls with six fours before cutting loose with a six and two more fours in the company of number 11 Nonkululeko Mlaba in an effort to put India under some pressure.
She was eventually bowled by left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad (2-55) but enjoyed excellent support from tailenders Tumi Sekhkhune (6 from 35 balls) and Masabata Klaas (2 from 33 balls) but India’s spinners continued to toil away with off-spinner Deepti Sharma claiming 2-95 from 45 overs.
Having reached 302-5 at lunch the Proteas scored just 34 runs in the penultimate session reaching 336-8 at tea, still in arrears by just one run with the usually attacking de Klerk batting out of character in a desperate bid to force the draw.
Wolvaardt’s tremendous innings finally came to an end just under 10 overs before the lunch break, trapped LBW by Gayakwad as she departed for 122 off 314 balls having struck 16 fours in her sublime innings.
Despite their brave performance the Proteas were always facing defeat and it would have taken an unbelievable effort for them to save the Test in the final session of the last day.
At the start of play the Proteas resumed on 232/2, with Wolvaardt on 93 and she wasted no time in getting to her century, hitting Sneh Rana for a two and a four in the first over, before a single in the second bowled by Renuka Singh took her to three figures.
Along with Marizanne Kapp (31) they took their third wicket partnership to 58 runs, before India made the breakthrough with Kapp the first wicket of the day, Deepti Sharma pinning her LBW, with the umpire sending her on her way after a hopeful review.
Six balls later Delmi Tucker followed her back to the dressing room after falling for her second duck of the match, caught at cover by Jemimah Rodrigues off the bowling of Rana as they slipped to 266/4, with Wolvaardt the next to fall before the Proteas rallied to lunch.
The two teams now play a three-match T20 International series at the same venue beginning on Friday.
INDIA WOMEN: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Shubha Satheesh, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Jemimah Rodrigues, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Sneh Rana, Ranuka Singh Thakur, Rajeshwari Gayakwad
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