Indian Women's Cricket Team Sets New Test Record with Mammoth 525 Runs

The Indian women's cricket team made history on the opening day of the Test match against South Africa, scoring a mammoth 525 for the loss of four wickets. This was the most runs scored by any team in a day's play in Test history, surpassing the previous record of 509 set by Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in 2022.

Openers Shafali Verma and Smriti Mandhana led the charge for India, scoring 205 and 149 respectively. Verma's double century was the highest individual score by an Indian woman in Test cricket, while Mandhana's century was her second in the format.

South African spinner Delmi Tucker was the most successful bowler for the Proteas, taking two wickets for 141 runs. However, she praised the Indian batters for their stunning performance.

"We will look back and refresh today, sit down and have discussions about tomorrow. Nothing taking away from their (Indian) batters today; they were phenomenal," Tucker said.

The pitch was expected to be spin-friendly, but it played more like a batting paradise on Friday. Misfields and overthrows also added to South Africa's woes.

Tucker admitted that the visitors could not execute their strategies well on the day, but she remained optimistic about their chances in the remaining days of the Test.

"We did try a few things when Smriti and Verma were batting. We switched to around the wicket and changed the field. We were happy with it for some time, but they took it away," she said.

"We could have definitely been better on the field. Yeah, it's hot out there. Also, overthrows and misfields are not the best of things. But, staying positive and sharp could help in avoiding those misfields."

The South African women do not have a proper red-ball setup back home, which has made their task tougher. However, Tucker said they are still learning and improving.

"We (SA Women) are still young (in) Test cricket, so we are still getting used to it. It's tough unlike T20s and ODIs, but we are still learning," she said.

"I don't think we did too bad. We did our homework and we knew what was coming."

Tags: #IndianCricket, #WomensCricket, #TestCricket, #ShafaliVerma, #SmritiMandhana