Chepauk Test: With Sneh Rana shining, India threaten to take control… but South Africa say ‘not today’

Quite early on Day 2 at Chepauk, there was a clear sign that South Africa could be in trouble. It came as early as the 8th over. Sneh Rana flighted up a delivery that pitched underneath Laura Wolvaardt’s eye-line, and hit the pads. It looked plumb in real time but a big appeal was turned down, as ball-tracking showed the ball turned past leg stump. It spelt “missing” on the ball-tracking system but on the field, it spelt danger for the South African batting side.

The South African captain survived but surely that delivery must have sowed a seed of doubt. Promptly, two deliveries later, Wolvaardt went for an ill-advised pull shot on a pitch with low bounce. Rana expertly pulled back her length slightly and the ball shot through low. The result was as plumb an LBW dismissal as you could see. The seed of doubt didn’t even have enough time to sprout, and she had to walk back. It was the kind of delivery that could have easily demoralised a tired side, for the kind of threat that was potentially to come.

However, the visitors, after four sessions of toiling in the Chennai heat, fought back. Sune Luus dug in. Marizanne Kapp continued her rich vein of run-scoring form. Two half-centuries were scored, with the ball occasionally spitting off the surface, and India too were made to work hard. The hosts are still very much in control with a lead of 367 runs, but 236/4 at stumps was a solid effort on a day when things could have easily unravelled. South Africa said… not today.

It's Stumps on Day 2 of the #INDvSA Test in Chennai!

South Africa move to 236/4, trailing #TeamIndia by 367 runs.

3⃣ wickets for @SnehRana15
1⃣ wicket for @Deepti_Sharma06

We will be back for Day 3 action tomorrow! ⌛️

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/4EU1Kp7wJe @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/LJg2Qjk9oB

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 29, 2024

Earlier in the day, records tumbled at Chepauk as India became the first ever team to cross 600 in the history of women’s Test cricket on Saturday. India declared on 603/6 after 115.1 overs, a few minutes after they broke the record set by Australia just earlier this year (575/9 in Perth). Unfortunately for South Africa, they were at the receiving end on both occasions.

South Africa’s fightback started with Luus neutralising the spinners with impressive front-foot play. She read the length well, going forward a majority of the time, but also rocking back on the rare occasion Rana and Co dropped it short. “Glad it looked that way,” Luus told the broadcasters when they told her she looked to be batting with a lot of clarity. “Hitting the ball under the eyes as much as possible was key, every time we reached out to play away from the body was when we got under trouble.”

Elaborating on the visitors’ gameplan Luus added: “I don’t think you can play for the one that goes low. We used the depth of the crease and kept a straight bat instead of going across. We had to be patient outside off and not go fishing, keep the straight one out, and trust your defence.”

One brings two for #TeamIndia!@SnehRana15 gets her third wicket of the innings 👏👏

Follow the match ▶️ https://t.co/4EU1Kp6YTG#TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/GBBZ9pHhTZ

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 29, 2024

As much as the Indian spinners threatened, the weather too was a strong foe for South Africa. “Weather in Perth (earlier this year when South Africa played a Test there) felt like winter compared to Chennai today, it was one of the hottest days of cricket I have faced in my career,” Luus said later. “But this is what we train for, we run and go to the gym, to be ready for such situations.”

Luus and Rana both had immense respect for what each of the teams tried to accomplish on Day 2, in what was often a gripping contest. The Indian spinner conceded that the South Africans batted beautifully but was confident enough on the state of play given that the pitch was starting to offer more and more assistance as the day went on. Rana, who was once again impressive with the red-ball, was India’s best bowler on the day. With a bit more luck (a couple of edges that were put down or evaded the close-in fielders by inches), her figures would have been better than 3/61.

WATCH 📽️

Captain Harmanpreet Kaur's authoritative fifty 🔽#TeamIndia | #INDvSA | @IDFCFIRSTBank

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) June 29, 2024

“A lot of hard work has gone into (being good with the red ball). The plan is simple for me, I just want to bowl in a good channel and use my stock ball as frequently as possible,” Rana said, adding that the wicket of Wolvaardt was very satisfactory because she was manifesting it. On a pitch that definitely had assistance for spinners but got easier to bat on once the batters got their eye in, Rana said that the key was to have a hard grip and impart revolutions a bit more than they normally would.

Indeed, last over of the day, things ended on an ominous note for South Africa. A well-set Kapp was left bamboozled by a couple of length deliveries from Rana, that turned and bounced viciously. Like a good episode of a TV series, the day ended on an intriguing note.

Brief scores: South Africa (1st Innings): 236/4 in 72 overs (Marizanne Kapp 69 not out, Sune Luus 65; Sneh Rana 3/61) vs India: 603/6 declared

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