The hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. They racked up 603-6 declared, thanks in large part to Shafali Verma (205) and Smriti Mandhana (149). In reply, South Africa could only manage 266, as Sneh Rana picked up 8-77.
Asked to follow on, the visitors fared much better in their second time out, putting up 373 to avoid an innings defeat as Laura Wolvaardt (122) and Sune Luus (109) both scored centuries. Indian openers Shubha Satheesh and Shafali Varma then knocked off the required 37 runs in 9.2 overs.
All records broken in the India-South Africa Chennai Test
The record breaking began in the first innings, as Shafali Verma registered the fastest ton in women's Test history off 113 balls.
India's opening partnership of 292 was also the highest for the first wicket in women's Test history, and Verma then scored the fastest double century in women's Test history. India's final score of 603-6 declared was also a women's world record, surpassing Australia's 575-9 declared against South Africa in Perth earlier this year.
Read more: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma smash records against South Africa
Verma was dismissed for 205 on the first day, breaking the women's Test record for the most runs scored in a single day's play. The previous record belonged to Elizabeth Snowball, who scored 189 for England against New Zealand in a three-day match in 1935. Mayank Agarwal (206 for India vs Bangladesh, 2019) was the most recent player, man or woman, to score over 200 runs in a single day's play.
India's Sneh Rana then registered the third-best innings figures in women's Test history, with 8-77. After picking up two wickets in the second innings, she became just the second Indian after Jhulan Goswami (5-33 & 5-45 vs England, 2006) to take 10 wickets in a Test match.
India equalled their record for most consecutive Test victories, with three wins in a row. They beat England and Australia in their last two matches, last December. The previous streak of three wins was completed in 2014, as they beat England and South Africa roughly three months apart, after securing a win over England in their previous match in August 2006.
In the third innings, South African captain Laura Wolvaardt became the first South African woman to score a century at the international level in all three formats of the game. Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont have done it for England women, and Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis have done it for South Africa men.
Laura Wolvaardt created history in one-off Test against India in Chennai, becoming the first South African woman to score a century at the international level in all three formats of the game.
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 1, 2024
Read more: https://t.co/ksLEXgyvuK pic.twitter.com/duONaPao5x
Wolvaardt's 122 and Sune Luus' 109 in the third innings marked the first time two South African women scored centuries in the same Test innings. It was also the first time that two teams' innings in the same match contained multiple centurions (Shafali Verma 205 & Smriti Mandhana 149 in the first innings).
Luus' 65 in the second innings was the highest score by a No.3 batter for South Africa women, going past Magdalena Terblanche's 41 against England in 2003. She then broke her own record by scoring 109 in the third innings. Wolvaardt also registered the highest Test score for a South Africa women's opener, going past Brenda Williams' 100 against New Zealand in 1972.
Laura Wolvaardt batted for a total of 427 minutes (7 hrs 7 minutes) in the match, the most ever by a South African woman.
The match aggregate totalled 1,279 runs, the second-highest in women's Test history behind the 1,371 scored during England vs Australia at Trent Bridge in 2023.
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