Sneh Rana became the third bowler to take eight wickets in a single innings in a women's Test match in India's one-off Test against South Africa in Chennai, returning 8-77 on Day Three.
India dominated the opening two days of play after they became the first team to breach the 600-run mark in women's Tests. Shafali Verma recorded the second-highest score in an innings by an India batter in women's Tests with her 205 off 197 balls, putting on a 292-run partnership with Smriti Mandhana who scored 149.
Rana picked up where the batters left off when South Africa came out to bat, trapping captain Laura Wolvaardt as her first victim in the eighth over of the innings. She finished Day Two with three wickets to her name, having also nicked off Anneke Bosch and Delmi Tucker, as well as trapping Sune Luus.
Coming into Day Three, South Africa had mounted a comeback and were nearing the 250-mark with four wickets down. Bowling her third over of the day, Rana struck to bowl Kapp with a beauty for 74. It took her just four balls for her to see the back of Sinalo Jafta, getting her caught at short-leg for a duck. Two overs later, she broke through Nadine de Klerk to take her sixth and leave South Africa eight wickets down. She then went through the two tailenders, Masabata Klaas and Nonkululeko Mlaba, in consecutive overs.
Third best figures in women's Tests
Her 8-77 is the third eight-wicket-haul in a women's Test, with Neetu David still retaining the best figures in the format with 8-53 against England in 1995.
Rana slots in behind Ash Gardner who took 8-66 against England in the Ashes Test last year. She is the first-bowler to take an eight-wicket-haul in her first bowling innings of the game in women's Tests, David's and Gardner's hauls both coming in the third and fourth innings respectively.
Having been asked to follow-on, still 337 runs behind, South Africa were again in trouble early. They lost Bosch for nine in the eighth over of the innings and were 16-1. However, Wolvaardt and Luus put on a near-200 run partnership to bring South Africa back into the game in the fight for the draw. Luus scored 109 before she was bowled by Harmanpreet Kaur, with Wolvaardt finishing the day unbeaten on 93 off 256 balls.
With eight South Africa wickets remaining, Rana needs a five-for in the second innings to be in with a shout of taking the most wickets ever in a women's Test.
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