On Friday, Shafali Verma’s double century (205 runs off 194 balls) helped India defeat South Africa and set a record for the highest-ever single-day total in Test cricket. She reached this mark after hitting two sixes off Delmi Tucker and finishing her innings with a single.
The previous record for most runs scored in a single day of Test cricket was held by the Sri Lankan men’s side; however, the Indian women’s team broke that mark across both men’s and women’s cricket.
Along with Smriti Mandhana (149 not-out off 161 balls), the pair put up a tremendous opening partnership of 292 runs. Their combined efforts threw South Africa’s bowlers into chaos as India reached an unprecedented 525/4.
By surpassing Betty Snowball’s 1935 record of 189 runs, Shafali became the first female Test match player to achieve more than 200 runs in a single day. Another record broken by Shafali was the most sixes hit in an innings by a female Test player on a single day.
Sachin Tendulkar took to social media to congratulate Shafali and the squad, applauding their outstanding performance and predicting even more spectacular results in the days to come.
