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Sneh Rana achieved a historic milestone for the India Women’s National Cricket Team in Test cricket. She became the first spinner from her team to claim 10 wickets in a match in the longest format of the game.
Rana accomplished this feat during the recently concluded one-off Test against South Africa Women’s National Cricket Team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The match, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, saw India’s dominance with both bat and ball.
In the first innings, Rana showcased her bowling prowess by taking 8 wickets, restricting South Africa to 266 runs in response to India’s commanding total of 603. She continued her impressive performance in the second innings, adding 2 more wickets to complete a 10-wicket haul in the match.
This remarkable achievement marked the first instance of an Indian spinner achieving such a milestone in women’s Test cricket. Rana’s outstanding contribution played a pivotal role in India’s victory, as they bowled out South Africa for 373 runs in the second innings and clinched the match by 10 wickets.
Overall, Sneh Rana became only the second Indian bowler ever to take 10 wickets in a women’s Test match. Her stellar performance rightfully earned her the Player of the Match award, complementing the superb batting efforts of Shafali Verma (205), Smriti Mandhana (149), Jemimah Rodrigues (55), Harmanpreet Kaur (69), and Richa Ghosh (86) in India’s commanding total.
Sneh Rana – Feeling great to contribute to my team
Sneh Rana expressed her joy in making a significant contribution to the team with her bowling performance. Reflecting on her achievement, she confidently stated that her standout display would reshape perceptions about off-spinners. Addressing reporters after the match, she elaborated:
“Feeling great to contribute to my team. Amazing feeling, I don’t have words to describe my feeling. My body is very fresh (chuckles). It was difficult initially for the spinners as there was no turn-on offer. Later on, there was turn and bounce.
“I want to give credit to the SA batters who batted well. Hats off to the Indian players. Playing Test match cricket is special and to be the Player of the Match is unbelievable. People think it’s easy to play off-spinners but they’ll think otherwise after today.”
Following India Women’s commanding 3-0 victory in the ODIs against South Africa Women, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, they have now sealed the Test match as well. With the Test concluded, attention now shifts to the upcoming T20Is.
