Spin challenge on the cards

Chennai: It is over six months since the Indian women’s cricket team wore the white flannels, while the South Africans have played red-ball cricket twice in as many years. Test matches for women are far and few in between, but that does not take the sheen away from it.
The stage is set for the one-off Test match between the two sides starting at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Friday.India—high on confidence after sweeping the ODI series— will assert their supremacy in the longest format, with spin being their trump card. The Chepauk surface is known to assist spinners and captain Harmanpreet Kaur expects the ball to turn from the final session of the opening day.
“We don’t have much experience in Chennai. The last couple of practice sessions gave us ideas. We have watched men play here, but women’s cricket is totally different. The pace of the ball and the way we bat vary. As the match begins, we’ll see how the wicket behaves, adapt to it and make decisions,” explained the top-order bat. India don’t start favourites merely on paper. Instead, they will play to their strengths and look to exploit the chinks in the Proteas game.
In India’s last Test against Australia in December, opener Smriti Mandhana and spinners Sneh Rana and Rajeshwari Gayakwad starred in the eight-wicket win.
Smriti heads into the contest after delivering a stellar show in the One-Dayers. In the three matches of the ODI series, the southpaw’s scores read 117, 136 and 90.
Also, Harmanpreet, Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues are all capable of batting deep.
On the bowling front, Renuka Singh Thakur, who sweated it out on the eve of the match, is expected to be incharge of the new ball. But the focus will be on how the spin troika of Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari and Sneh turn it on the favourable red-soil track. The visitors will have more to worry about than the spin-friendly conditions. South Africa last played a Test match against Australia in February in which they were handed a heavy innings and 284-run defeat. To make matters worse, the visitors are still searching for their first win on this tour.
South Africa skipper Laura Wolvaardt admitted to the team’s lack of preparation. “We don’t play domestic cricket. So, just coming straight into an international multi-day game is difficult. I guess the women’s Test in general is a bit of an unknown for both teams. Neither of us have experience in it. But India do have a big home-ground advantage. I think this will be a huge challenge,” said Wolvaardt, an opening batter.
However, the Proteas seemed to have done their homework and were facing a lot of tweakers in the nets to counter spin, the type of blowing that could deliver thrills and spills in the next few days. The match will end a 47-year-long wait for the city to witness a women’s Test.