Debutantes in focus as India Women take on South Africa in one-off Test

The focus will be on young talent, especially the debutantes, when the Indian women's cricket team squares off against South Africa in a one-off Test starting here on Friday, a decade after the two teams last clashed in a five-day game.

With Test cricket not being a regular affair for women, as many as five in the Indian squad could get a debut in the longest format, after having established themselves and proved their mettle in the limited-overs circuit.

Also, with India coming off a 3-0 clean sweep in the preceding ODI series against the same side, the momentum is surely with the hosts although this will be a different format altogether.

The likes of Uma Chetry, Priya Punia, Saika Ishaque, Arundhati Reddy and Shabnam Shakil will be the ones to watch as they prepare for their Test debut.

The last time India competed in a red-ball match was December 2023, which was their first Test outing in two years.

Playing back-to-back home Tests against England and Australia (one each), the hosts were successful in both instances. the Indians last played South Africa in a Test back in 2014 in Mysore, winning it by a comprehensive innings and 34-run margin.

Although the focus has generally been on white-ball cricket for the Indian women, head coach Amol Muzumdar has mentioned that there will be more red-ball cricket going forward.

He has said that having a Women's Test Championship will add more value to the bilateral Tests.

"It's not a bad idea to have a (Women's) Test Championship, something we can look forward to. But that is for the Board (BCCI and ICC) to decide. If it happens, it's indeed better for the game," he had said on Wednesday.

While Harmanpreet Kaur will lead the side with five Tests under her belt, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana is the most experienced of the lot, having played a Test more that her skipper.

Both Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues were in good form against England and Australia. They would once again back themselves to come up with a solid show with the bat against the South Africans here.

The likes of Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma will also be expected to come good as they are currently the team's second and third-highest run-scorers respectively in the format.

As for bowling, Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar were lethal forces that gave the England and Australia a hard time in December.

Also, Sneh Rana's off-breaks could be a nightmare for the Proteas, especially on the Chennai track, which is traditionally known to assist spinners.

As for South Africa, the women have played just one Test in two years, against Australia in Perth this February, which the latter won comprehensively.

Even the South African side has five names in line for Test debuts.

However, the team led by Laura Wolvaardt will continue to rely heavily on all-rounders Sune Luus and Delmi Tucker along with Tazmin Brits.

With the ball, Masabata Klaas and Anneke Bosch are their top wicket-takers, while spinner Nonkululeko Mlaba can be tricky to face on this track.

Chepauk has hosted only one women's Test to date, back in 1976 when India drew against the West Indies.

However, Muzumdar asserted that the team is aware of the demands here and will play accordingly.

Squads: ====== India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Jemimah Rodrigues, Priya Punia, Shafali Verma, Shubha Satheesh, Deepti Sharma, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Richa Ghosh (wk), Uma Chetri (wk), Sneh Rana, Saika Ishaque, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Arundhati Reddy and Renuka Thakur Singh.

South Africa: Laura Wolvaardt (c), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder (wk), Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marz, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukune, Nondumiso Shangase and Delmi Tucker.

Match starts: 9.30 am (IST) PTI AYG PM AYG PM PM