South Africa women’s team fought back on Day 3 of the Test match on the back of a fine century by Sune Luus.
South Africa ended the day at 232/3 after being put on follow-on. However, India’s Sneh Rana stole the show with her eight-wicket haul during the 2nd innings. Currently, South Africa trail by 105 runs after they were bundled out for 266 runs in their first innings. However, they put up a spirited show in their 2nd innings and trail by 105 runs in response to India’s mammoth total of 603 runs.
India’s off-spinner Sneh Rana ran through South Africa’s batting line up as she made full use of the spinning conditions on offer at the M Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The visitors managed to add only 30 runs to their overnight total from Day 2. Sneh Rana registered her name in record books as she became only the 2nd Indian and third overall bowler to pick an eight-wicket haul in Women’s Tests.
Sneh Rana’s 8-wicket haul
Sneh Rana reflected on her performance and how the pitch played on Day 3.
“It was initially challenging for the spinners because the ball wasn’t turning much. Later on, enjoyed as we got it to spin. Mindset is clear – to bowl in the right areas. We were trying hard for wickets. We are going for the kill – that’s our mindset. Laura and Kapp are two of best batters in the world. They have done really well in the past. They played really well, and you got to give them credit. We (bowlers) have been complementing each other and even the fielders have supported us,” Sneh Rana told the broadcasters.
IND-W vs SA-W -As it happened
South Africa were trailing by 337 runs and the Indians enforced the follow-on as the visitors suffered an early setback. Anneke Bosch was trapped leg-before for nine by Deepti with just 16 runs on the board. The end seemed near for the South Africans then. However, Wolvaardt and Luus joined forces to push the hosts onto the backfoot. Meanwhile, Luus brought up her maiden Test century, as she became only the second South African to hit a Test ton against India after Mignon du Preez (102) in Mysore in 2014.