Shafali Varma, Smriti Mandhana power India-W to record-breaking score vs South Africa on Day 1

Chennai: It has been a historic day for the Women’s test as Team India-W have started with a dominant performance on Day 1 of the one-off Test against South Africa-W at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. The team ended the day with 525 runs scored at the loss of just four wickets on the back of an amazing batting performance by Shafali Varma and Smriti Mandhana.

The Indian team has broken the record of most runs scored on a single day with the previous best being 431 in a day.

“Really happy that the day went really well for the team. Brilliant to watch Shafali from the other end, hitting those massive sixes. Always enjoyed batting alongside her and really special to watch that sort of innings from the non-striker’s end. To get more than 500, is a remarkable achievement,” said Mandhana in the post-game interview.

Openers Shafali Varma and Smriti Mandhana set the pace for the day and added 292 runs for the opening partnership making it the highest opening partnership in Women’s Test cricket history surpassing the record held by by Pakistan’s Sajjida Shah and Kiran Baluch against West Indies in Karachi in 2004.

The two were also just shy of the highest partnership in history as they fell 17 runs behind the 309-run stand between the Australian pair of LA Reeler and DA Annetts. The duo thus also eclipsed the previous highest Indian partnership for any wicket, 275 by Poonam Raut and Thirush Kamini against South Africa in Mysore 2014.

Shafali Varma was the star of the day as the 20-year-old scored 205 runs, breaking the record of the fasted double century in Women’s test cricket history. She got to her milestone off just 194 balls, breaking Annabel Sutherland’s previous record of a double ton off 248 balls.

Brief scores:

India Women 525/4 in 98 overs (Shafali Verma 205, Smriti Mandhana 149, Jemimah Rodrigues 55, Harmanpreet Kaur 42 not out, Richa Ghosh 43 not out; Delmi Tucker 2-141) against South Africa.

–IANS