Confident India hope to dominate in Chennai

Chandigarh: South Africa men team’s feat of entering their maiden ICC T20 World Cup final has created hysteria back home leaving fans jubilant. Whole of South Africa will be glued to television sets or social media platforms to see the Proteas vie for the World Cup on Saturday. Also, a small set of fans in the Rainbow Nation will also be cheering for their national women’s team dressed in white flannels that will be taking on hosts India in a four-day Test match starting Friday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk.

It will be SA’s third Test in the last two years while India last played Australia and England in December last year in Mumbai.

The Chepauk wicket traditionally is a spin-friendly track and the balls turn usually on the second day. This will bring spinners in focus when the two teams lock horns with each other. The Indian spin department features Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque and the experienced left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad. All eyes will be on India vice-captain Smriti Mandhana who is in red-hot form with the bat. She scored two successive centuries against SA in the three-match ODI series with the hosts winning it 3-0.

It remains to be seen whether Shafali Verma will be given a chance and if left-handed batter Shubha Satheesh or Priya Punia will be preferred for one opening slot in the team, Mandhana being the other one.

India women’s team last played in Chepauk in a Quadrangular series in 2007. Sharing her thoughts ahead of the match, India captain Harmanpreet Kaur said, “We have never played in Chennai before. It is a good chance for us to play in home conditions knowing that the ODI World Cup next year is going to be held in India. It has been raining here since the last couple of days. We are hoping for it to start turning within one or two days. This series will definitely give us a lot of confidence to see how the wicket is going to behave and what combinations we can look for in the World Cup.”

Having never played a Test in Chennai before, India will rely on the experience of some practice sessions to get some idea about the conditions. Also, rains in Chennai have delayed the chance for both the teams to have a fair idea about the pitch at the ground.

“As a team we are taking this opportunity with both hands whenever we are playing a home series. It is a great opportunity to see how the wickets are and how we can improve our skills,” added Kaur.

India will also be playing three T20Is against them at the same venue. This will be India’s third Test in seven months.

The SA team led by Laura Wolvaardt rely heavily on all-rounders Sune Luus and Delmi Tucker along with Tazmin Brits. Not to forget Marizanne Kapp, who hammered a century in the second ODI in Bengaluru.

With the ball, Masabata Klaas and Anneke Bosch are their top wicket-takers.

“We do not have much idea about how Chennai wicket is going to play. We have only seen when the men were playing but women’s cricket is totally different. The pace, the way we bowl and bat, I think we will know that only once we take the field tomorrow, see how the pitch behaves and make decisions. The experienced support staff including coach Amol Mazumdar’s inputs are definitely going to help us,” felt Kaur, who will be playing her sixth Test match in Chennai.