He almost took the Chinnaswamy pitch out of the equation, forming a potent partnership with Vidwath Kaverappa

Himanshu Agrawal07-Jul-2023The 35th over of North Zone’s second innings of the Duleep Trophy semi-final began with a change in plan from South Zone: after continuing to pitch the ball up for a while under overcast skies to try and find movement and wickets, South switched to the short-ball strategy.Prabhsimran Singh and Ankit Kumar, who had got together at a tricky 61 for 3 after North had only squeezed out a three-run first-innings lead, were starting to steady the innings. Their partnership soon crossed fifty and they looked good for even more, thanks to the new-found nimbleness of Prabhsimran, who, until then, had struck eight of his 11 boundaries on the third morning itself.With a short leg, straightish fine leg, deepish fine leg and deep square leg in place, Prabhsimran swatted at a short ball from around the wicket from Vyshak Vijaykumar. Vyshak continued with the plan in the 37th over – the fourth delivery of the over was pulled by Prabhsimran between midwicket and mid-on. However, Vyshak had the last laugh when Prabhsimran found deep square leg with another attempted pull.Related

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That wicket started a collapse as North lost 7 for 65 to fold for 211. That wicket fell in the second over of Vyshak’s third spell in the second innings. After his third spell, his figures read 9-0-54-2, and that trigger helped him end the day with 15-0-76-5.While that final economy rate was still on the higher side, Vyshak showed the willingness to hit back before the game slipped out of South’s grasp. He looked confident after every short ball he banged, almost taking the slowness of the pitch out of the equation. Prabhsimran had slammed two fours off the short balls, and the boundaries at the Chinnaswamy Stadium were short too, but Vyshak tirelessly dug the ball into the pitch.”I thought that [in] the second innings, the wicket was a little flatter. So I had to pull my lengths back,” Vyshak said after the third day’s play. “Prabhsimran was batting really well, so the plan was to get him to pull, and it worked. I got my rhythm back.”Vyshak continued to stay on the shorter side, and took three more wickets with that length. On the fourth ball of the 46th over, Jayant Yadav got an inside edge on to the stumps as he looked to block a good-length ball angling in from outside off. Two balls later, Pulkit Narang was cramped by a short ball that came into him and ended up slashing to slip.He got his fifth wicket with another one which rose sharply, this time at the left-handed Nishant Sindhu, who ended up gloving a pull behind to the wicketkeeper. It invited an animated celebration from Vyshak, whose roar reverberated around the quiet and empty Chinnaswamy.Since Vyshak’s first-class debut for Karnataka in February 2022, only Krishnappa Gowtham has taken more wickets for the side. While Vyshak has 38 wickets in the period, Gowtham has 48. However, Gowtham (506 overs) has had the benefit of bowling more overs than Vyshak (291) during the time.South also had Vyshak’s new-ball partner Vidwath Kaverappa to thank for helping restrict North. Kaverappa had extracted two of the three wickets on the second evening, and Vyshak spoke of their rapport, which has brought success for Karnataka too.Since June 2022, when Kaverappa made his first-class debut, the pair has combined to pick up 78 wickets at 19.77 in games where they have played together. That is the second-best among all bowling pairs in the format in India, among those to have taken a minimum of 75 combined wickets at an average of less than 20. That includes combined figures of 59.3-11-177-13 in this match, where Kaverappa grabbed 5 for 28 in the first innings. So what makes them click?”He was telling me what we can do. I was trying to bowl quick, and he said that if you try to backspin, you will get bounce from this wicket,” Vyshak said. “The partnership is working out well. We exchange thoughts, and our understanding is good.”Set 215 to enter the final, South are now 194 away from victory ahead of the final day’s play. Much of that credit goes to Vyshak and Kaverappa. There is promise, and with that, the prospect of shining again in the upcoming Ranji Trophy.

Success of dual series, hosted in major venues, lays down gauntlet to CA ahead of 2025 rematch

Valkerie Baynes19-Jul-2023England have thrown down a challenge to Australia ahead of the next Women’s Ashes.Not only did England push Australia to a draw in the multi-format series, but by hosting matches at major venues, the event received unprecedented public support with about 110,000 people attending the seven matches, which is more than three times as many as in 2019.The Test, played at Trent Bridge, attracted more than 23,000 spectators across the five days, while each T20I – at Edgbaston, The Oval and Lord’s – had crowds of around 20,000, while the ODIs peaked with more than 12,000 at the Ageas Bowl in between matches at the smaller venues of Bristol and Taunton either side.Players from both sides lauded the dual “Ashes2Ashes” marketing campaign alongside the ongoing men’s series and the use of bigger venues, which in turn offered better pitches.Heather Knight, England’s captain, said that despite the success of the Women’s Ashes, it was too early to consider splitting off from the men’s series with the Hundred setting another example of how marketing and playing in tandem could benefit the women’s game in particular.”The biggest thing that’s helped this year is the fact that’s been marketed as two Ashes, that’s been brilliant,” she said. “And the fact that the games have been put at the biggest grounds at the best times, not on a small ground on a Tuesday at 11 o’clock where you’re fighting an uphill battle.”Putting things together can work to gain that momentum and I think once you get the momentum then it can be a point where you split them, but I don’t think that’s yet. It’s obviously been hugely successful this summer and I don’t think I’d want to change that too much.”The next edition, in Australia in early 2025, won’t coincide with the men’s Ashes, which are scheduled for the 2025-26 Australian summer. One challenge Australia face in staging matches is the difference in stadium sizes, with most major venues holding a capacity of around 50,000 (the MCG holds 100,000) whereas Test venues in England generally hold between 20,000 and 30,000. Venues like Manuka, Junction and North Sydney ovals are significantly smaller and slightly more remote. That said, the WACA and Bellerive Oval, which will host South Africa Women over the upcoming Australian summer hold around 20,000 and could be used in a mix of larger and smaller venues for future series.Related

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Alyssa Healy, Australia’s stand-in captain on this tour, believes England setting an example for future series is a good thing.”I think the ECB have put Cricket Australia under a little bit of the pump and said, ‘over to you now and see what you can do,’ so it’s great for the game,” Healy said.”I keep saying and I have said for a long time, if you give us the opportunity in great venues with great wickets, we are going to give you a great show and that was proven throughout this series.”People want to come when they know there’s going to be good cricket played and I think both sides showed up wanting to be a part of that, so that was great and hopefully we see something similar in Australia.”Another challenge which might force a rethink of how the Women’s Ashes, and increasingly popular multi-format series in the women’s game globally, are played lies in the points system and weighting given to Test matches.The fact that the Test was worth four points, double that of each white-ball game, led to the somewhat absurd situation whereby Australia managed to retain the Ashes despite losing both the T20 and ODI series 2-1. In other words, Australia drew the series and therefore take the trophy home despite winning three matches to England’s four, because they won the Test.Healy admitted that had left the overall result feeling “a bit dirty in a way”, although Knight, who agreed the system could be overhauled by “the boffins”, acknowledged her side had benefited from a similar scenario in 2013-14 when their victory in the Perth Test (then worth six points) was enough to retain the Ashes despite Australia winning the limited-overs legs.She suggested making the Test worth an odd number of points so that there can be a clear winner rather than retention of the Ashes on a drawn series. But that still poses questions over whether the format which is played least often should carry more weight in women’s series. The placement of the Test within the series also has implications for its importance to the overall result. In this edition, with the Test first, England found themselves in a situation where they needed to win five of the remaining six matches to win back the Ashes, which Australia have held since 2015.Whatever happens next, it is clear there has been a shift on and off the field between these two great rivals. Over to you, Australia.

Batting depth has been their hallmark but the side beaten by South Africa was neither one thing nor the other

Matt Roller22-Oct-20231:40

What’s gone wrong for England?

England’s teamsheet encapsulated just how quickly their plans have been thrown out of the window. Moeen Ali, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone and Chris Woakes all played in Ahmedabad on the opening night of the tournament; 16 days later, they found themselves relegated to the dugout.Matthew Mott had rejected the idea of “wholesale changes” in a media briefing in Mumbai on Tuesday, but England made three out of a possible four against South Africa. Ben Stokes, David Willey and Gus Atkinson featured for the first time in the tournament, with Curran, Livingstone and Woakes all left out.Four players who have collectively embodied one of England’s great strengths, their wealth of all-round talent, found themselves running the drinks. In fact, Curran and Livingstone ended up spending the majority of South Africa’s innings on the field as substitutes, as England tried to mitigate injuries and illness.Related

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In theory, it meant strengthening the bowling attack – Curran and Woakes had both leaked runs in England’s first three games – while allowing England to pick an extra specialist batter: Harry Brook was retained alongside Stokes, who will not bowl a ball at this World Cup due to his chronic knee injury.But in practice, it meant that England were vulnerable to any of their bowlers going down injured or having an off-day. When Reece Topley hurt a finger in his fourth over, Jos Buttler felt compelled to throw the ball to Joe Root, who had rattled through 6.1 expensive overs by the end of the 23rd.And it meant that with the bat, England were unusually reliant on their top six, with Willey batting at No. 7 for the first time in four years and Adil Rashid at No. 8 for the first time in five. There was some irony in the fact that it was their ninth-wicket pair of Atkinson and Mark Wood who saved some face with a 70-run partnership.Mott’s explanation was that Stokes’ return and the form of Curran and Woakes meant that England had little choice but to alter their balance. “We always knew something had to give and we wanted to do was go with the most aggressive option, which was to try to bowl them out,” he said.”We knew we were a bit light with the bat, but we were prepared to back our top six batters, who are our best six batters. When you lose a few in the Powerplay and you’re behind it [the game], it certainly doesn’t look like a great decision. But that was the method, and we’ll have to rethink that for the next game.”Ben Stokes’ return saw England change the balance of their side•ICC/Getty ImagesSpeaking to Sky, he added: “We’ll definitely look back and reflect on that. For a long time, having someone at No. 7 who can really influence a match like a Livingstone or an Ali has been, definitely, the blueprint… but I don’t think that was the difference between the two teams today. They thoroughly outplayed us.”That much was true: England’s defeat did not owe to selection. Atkinson and Willey took 2 for 60 and 0 for 61 respectively from nine overs each, and were England’s most economical seamers; based on their performances in the first three games, Curran and Woakes may have proved even more expensive, and they have hardly contributed with the bat either.Alternatives were scant. Stokes’ highly-anticipated return proved a non-event – he made 5 off 8 balls, walking out with England 23 for 2 in pursuit of 400 – but his inclusion was a necessity, to the extent Mott repeatedly described it as “a forced change”. With Brook the only batter to exert himself in defeat against Afghanistan, a shift in formation was unavoidable.But the balance of the side – or lack thereof – exposed the extent to which England have lost their identity in ODIs. Batting has always been their strength and picking several allrounders liberated their top order to follow their attacking instincts: the team that faced South Africa looked like neither one thing nor the other.Four years ago, England used 13 players across the 2019 World Cup; four matches into the tournament, they have already used all 15 players in their initial squad. Consistency of selection was once a hallmark of their white-ball set-up, but England have determined that it will be difficult to achieve in India due to the diversity of conditions.”Our message has been really clear: we will go from place to place, and pick the best team we think,” Mott said. “I don’t shy away from the fact that the balance of that team was a little bit out today… That’s what happens when you lose: every decision is questioned. When you win, you can gloss over it a bit, but we paid heavily for it today.”Mott also explained that England went with a fourth seamer, rather than a spin-bowling allrounder, because they believed South Africa would be vulnerable against pace. “Looking at our match-ups with South Africa, we wanted to go a little bit pace-heavy,” he said. “We thought that was our best way of taking wickets throughout the innings.”Instead, England’s seamers conceded 8.42 runs per over collectively, while their spinners went at 6.74 an over. It was further evidence of the extent to which they misread conditions, added to their decision to bowl first in the afternoon sun, which Mott said was “pretty unanimous”.Mott also admitted his frustrations that England play so little ODI cricket: they played 42 ODIs between the 2019-23 World Cups, compared to 88 in the 2015-19 cycle, and almost none with a full-strength side available. “I would love us to play a little bit more cricket, if I’m being honest,” he said.”When you’re looking at trying to get your combinations and confidence, certainly, the more you can play together – and win and lose going into series – is going to help… we knew coming into this tournament we were guessing a little bit; we knew that with selections, in terms of being able to compare different players.”But there is nothing that Mott can do about perceived systemic issues in the next three weeks. Instead, he must convince his players that, as he told the press, “they’re still bloody good” – good enough to win their next five group-stage games, starting on Thursday against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru.”I still think we picked our best 15, and I still think we can win this tournament,” Mott insisted. “But it needs to turn around pretty quickly.”

He was unprepared for Johannesburg’s altitude, but his skills, sharpened by a County stint, were entirely on point as he ran through South Africa’s line-up

Firdose Moonda17-Dec-20232:09

Arshdeep: Last night, we were thinking of restricting SA under 400

Arshdeep Singh had not taken an ODI wicket in three matches before today. Now, he has five.A devastating new-ball spell of 4 for 23 in seven overs drained the colour from South Africa on Pink Day and showed that even without Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, India can still field a quality attack. The same depth was not as evident in South Africa’s line-up, who were without Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma and looked as hapless as they were at Eden Gardens a little more than a month ago. Then, India bowled them out for 83 – their lowest total at an ODI World Cup. Today, they were dismissed for 116, their lowest at home. It was also their ninth-lowest ODI total overall.Related

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Three of those nine have come at India’s hands, which says as much about the problems in South Africa’s batting – their inability to get forward was glaring in this match – as it does about the skills of India’s quicks. Arshdeep and Avesh Khan took nine of South Africa’s ten wickets and the first eight inside 17 overs. They got an unexpected amount of movement on a used surface, but the standout feature of their bowling was their discipline. They rarely strayed from a good length outside off and let the pitch do the rest.”The plan was to just keep it simple, hit good areas, extract some bounce and look for a little movement off the seam,” Arshdeep said at the post-match conference. “We knew if we could get movement inside or outside of the bat, we could get nicks or lbws. That was the plan: to keep it simple and challenge the batters to score off tough balls.”And it was tough from the get go. Though Mukesh Kumar ended wicketless, he should have had the first one when his opening delivery swung in to Reeza Hendricks and hit him on the pad, but KL Rahul could not be convinced to review. Ball-tracking suggested it would have gone on to hit leg stump. Instead, it was Arshdeep who dismissed Hendricks in the next over, when he got a ball to shape between bat and body and take the inside-edge on its way to the stumps. The inward movement also accounted for Rassie van der Dussen and Heinrich Klaasen, by which time South Africa were 52 for 4 at the end of the first powerplay and nowhere near the score India were anticipating when they did their pre-game plans.”We went for dinner last night – me, Axar [Patel] and Avesh – and we were talking about how brutal Proteas are when they wear pink jerseys and how they hit sixes when they are in this jersey. So we were just talking about keeping them under 400,” Arshdeep said to wry laughter.Arshdeep Singh took 4 for 23 in a devastating seven-over first spell•AFP via Getty ImagesArshdeep had also not bowled a full quota of 10 overs in an ODI before today. And after his opening spell, when he left the field, it did not seem like he would. He was out of breath in the thin Highveld air and struggling in temperatures that, even in the mid-20s Celsius, can feel much hotter. Arshdeep admitted to being unprepared for the altitude or the workload, after last playing an ODI more than a year ago. “I had no idea [what to expect],” he told the broadcasters. “I only came to know about it in three or four overs when I was running out of breath.”But he returned in the 22nd over, in search of a fifth, got it in his final over, and was the only player to bowl out in the match. He credited his County stint with Kent for some of his ability to push himself to come back after a physically demanding first spell. “I learnt how to recover, how to train individually and how I can maintain my fitness by playing a County stint,” he said. “It wasn’t very fruitful, I didn’t get many wickets but it helped me to understand my game, how I can get wickets, how I can contain the batters and things like that. It gives you that extra bit of confidence that you can play at that level.”Arshdeep took 13 wickets in five County Championship matches at 41.76, with a best of 3 for 58, and dismissed the likes of Ben Foakes, Will Jacks and Will Young, and also has experience in the IPL. Combined, he believes that prepared him for a smooth transition to the international game. “When you play with international superstars, you feel like you belong on this stage and the pressure is not that much,” he said. “Earlier, people used to come straight from domestic cricket and you can feel the difference but ever since the IPL has begun, the difference is not that vast. It’s still there but it’s easier to blend in at this level and perform well.”India have now won back-to-back matches at the Wanderers, to level the T20I series and take the lead in the ODIs. It is also where they have historically enjoyed success in South Africa, with victories in nine of their last 15 matches across all formats,The venue has a reputation as a graveyard for subcontinental styles of play and India’s record tells a story about the adaptability of Indian batters and the progress of their pace pack. They are prepared for these conditions and though they may rue not having a Test at the ground on this tour, they can see the work they are putting in pay off.”It feels really nice when the results fall into place,” Arshdeep said. “Whether we win or lose, the main focus is on preparation and processes. Even if we can improve one or two percent in every game – that’s where great teams succeed. We enjoy the results but the main focus is on the process.”

“I am planning for the next match already,” says the big-hitter, after a heartbreak at his home ground, close on the heels of defeat in the BPL final

Mohammad Isam04-Mar-2024Midway through the press conference after Sri Lanka’s three-run win against Bangladesh in Sylhet, journalist Shakila Bobby asked Jaker Ali a question. The young batter had just come off a breathtaking 68 off 34 balls, which included a Bangladesh record of six sixes in the innings.”You just played your first game at home in Sylhet. The crowd was chanting your name. What was that like?” Shakila asked from the back of the press-conference room.” [sister], I have always loved playing at this venue. I made my first-class debut at this ground. I know the wicket and atmosphere of this place. It was all good, but it would have been great had we won the game,” Jaker responded.Related

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Wait, sister? Few in the room knew beforehand that Jaker and Shakila were siblings. Most of the Dhaka-based journalists who had travelled to Sylhet had no idea. But now interest was piqued. Another journalist asked Jaker how it felt to take a question from his sister.”She must be proud of me. She looks happy,” Jaker responded, with a shy smile.Shakila is the Sylhet correspondent for the Bangladesh daily . Her husband Mamun Hossain is a photographer with the same newspaper. They brought their toddler Saiyara Mahek along, and watched the game from the press box. The niece cheered a few times as Jaker was hitting his big sixes, the crowd going wild around her.After the press conference, Jaker caught up with his sister’s family. And then Shakila spoke to the other journalists. “It was my dream to ask Jaker a question in a press conference,” she said, beaming. “I never knew that it would come true one day.”Shakila Bobby, Jaker Ali’s sister, with her husband Mamun Hossain and their daughter Saiyara Mahek•Bangladesh Cricket BoardShakila said the whole family is into sports. Shakila herself is a former captain of her district’s cricket team. Their father, who died in 2017, was an athlete in the Bangladesh Army. They hail from Habiganj, a town 75km to the southwest of Sylhet.Jaker plays his first-class cricket for Sylhet Division, which is why he felt so at ease at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, the team’s home venue. Jaker struck five of his six sixes after Mahmudullah got out, having given his senior partner support when he was going all guns blazing.Jaker took the game into the last over, but started if off strike, with No. 8 Rishad Hossain facing up. When Jaker got the strike, it was 10 needed off four balls. He could not get the job done, but expanded on all of it at the press conference. “[Mahmudullah] Riyad told me to bat normally. I didn’t have any extra plans. He was getting boundaries with calculative risks. It freed me up. It made life easier for me.”[Later] I asked Rishad to give me the strike, but he got out. I was on strike when we needed 10 off the last four balls. I was confident that we could win the game. I was playing a good innings. But I didn’t connect with the ball and it went to hand.”When Riyad was taking chances, my plan was to ensure that we would get 10 or 12 runs in the over. This was my role with Riyad at the crease. I shifted my gear after he got out.”

“My face is telling you how I feel. Losing is always heart-breaking. I didn’t sleep the night after losing the BPL final. I would have felt great if we could have won today. But I am planning for the next match already.”Jaker Ali is not dwelling on the tough times

Jaker got into this Bangladesh T20I squad because Aliss Al Islam sustained a finger injury. He had done enough in this season’s BPL to be in the reckoning (in fact, his Comilla Victorians coach Mohammad Salahuddin had blasted the outgoing chief selector Minhajul Abedin for not picking him in the first place). His exploits included unbeaten knocks of 40, 38 and 18, all featuring explosive hitting.”My BPL form really helped me here,” Jaker said. “We got here in Sylhet just two days after we finished the BPL in Dhaka. No changing in format was good for me. I also knew about this ground well, this being my home ground.”Jaker said captain Najmul Hossain Shanto had given him a heads-up about his call-up, which allowed him a bit of time to prepare mentally. Jaker had not got the job done in the BPL final against Fortune Barishal, which gnawed at him. He had lost a night’s sleep, but then he had to prepare for his first home game for Bangladesh. Tonight was a bit of a repeat for him, but, importantly, he seemed keen to learn from these experiences.”My face is telling you how I feel. Losing is always heart-breaking. I didn’t sleep the night after losing the BPL final. I would have felt great if we could have won today,” he said. “But I am planning for the next match already. We can take note of plenty of positives from today’s game.”

She followed her opening-night thunder with another four overs of pace, fire and hostility in Bengaluru

Shashank Kishore25-Feb-20241:15

Ismail: ‘I still want to be one of the best in the world and I firmly believe I am’

Pre-match routines mean different things to different people.For Shabnim Ismail, it was to target the lone stump 22 yards away. And to keep firing them in until she hit the base. She was targeting toe-crushers.For 15 minutes, she was at it. Every ball, full energy. But she wasn’t quite hitting her mark. And then towards the end, she finally nailed one. The stump went flying out of its groove and Ismail was gleaming with the happiness of a toddler who had finally learnt to walk.Ismail didn’t have too many chances to gleam in WPL 2023. Three forgettable games with UP Warriorz later, she was back in the auction pool. What were the chances that a retired international would attract the same interest?Related

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It was never meant to be this way. Ismail was to be among the first names on the team sheet. But it hurt to be told she was being let go. And she didn’t suppress it. Ismail decided to heal by breathing fire and showing everyone who the boss lady was. On Sunday, there was little doubt.In theory, Mumbai Indians didn’t need to tinker around much with a championship-winning combination from last year. But how do you bid aggressively for someone like Ismail and tell her she’s not in the XI?Harmanpreet Kaur didn’t need to worry. She knew, retired or not, Ismail was a four-over guarantee who’d give her heart, pace, fire and hostility. Essentially much more than just running into bowl. Ismail has spoken often about getting that feel when she has the ball in hand. Of knocking batters off. On Sunday night, Ismail truly felt that way.It was as if she was whispering sweet something to the white spherical object in her hand and it was simply obeying her instructions to the T.Shabnim Ismail struck twice in her first two overs•BCCIVeda Krishnamurthy, on WPL debut, bore the brunt of this fury in the first over. A perfectly pitched full-length delivery jagged back in off the seam to strike the pad as she played all around it. Strike one.Harleen Deol came next. Full of confidence after a disdainful whip for six off Nat-Sciver Brunt at the other end. This time it was not just the late movement but the skid off the deck that had her hustling to keep the ball out. Too late, gone. Strike two.Ismail didn’t need more than 10 minutes to show she was truly a boss lady. A back-up to none.She was so charged up by now that she decided to now rattle the heart of the Giants’ batting. And part of that plan was to attack Beth Mooney, whose tournament didn’t even last a game last year due to injury. Here, two overs in, she had to contend with serious heat and the early blows.Ismail decided to dish out a fiery bouncer. Mooney ducked. The ball flew over the wicketkeeper’s head for five wides. It would’ve irked some. Not Ismail. The short ball was meant to be a statement that she meant business. The end result wasn’t of consequence. It was merely part of a wider plan to show she was the one calling the shots.Ismail came back to dismiss Mooney, out attempting an audacious scoop. Coming at the time it did – Giants were reduced to 58 for 5 in the 11th over – had a deflating effect on the batting team. Along the way, Ismail had delivered a perfect sequel to her opening-night thunder, when she splayed Shafali Varma’s stumps.Ash Gardner highlighted prior to the game the importance of taking the attack to Ismail, and not allowing her to settle. Ismail delivered the perfect riposte.

On the eve of India women’s first Test in Chennai in 48 years, former players Shantha Rangaswamy, Sudha Shah and Shubhangi Kulkarni reminisce about their first Test there in 1976

Sruthi Ravindranath27-Jun-2024The north-east monsoon had just set in when India and West Indies arrived in Madras (now Chennai) in November 1976. It was the second match of the first-ever official women’s Test series in India. For the first Test, in Bangalore, the stadium was almost full. Not that it was something new for the India players: even the matches they played unofficially previously had drawn massive crowds.And the Chepauk crowd? The stadium was three-fourths full, even on days it rained. Ask Shantha Rangaswamy, the captain of that India side, and she falls back on that old chestnut: the “knowledgeable crowd”.Shubhangi Kulkarni, India’s legspinner, who finished as the highest wicket-taker in that series, faintly recollects the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association trying to bring girls from a nearby school in to watch the match.”My first impression was that the crowd knew their cricket,” Kulkarni says. “They were genuinely applauding the performance. They came to watch the cricket, unlike when we played in 1975 in various cities – the crowd [there] came to see whether the girls played in skirts or pants, you know. They [the Chennai crowd] were cheering both teams, cheering good performances.”Related

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Sudha Shah: We don't want to be compared to the men

Shanta Rangaswamy: 'No one can take the pride away from us' (2017)

Madras, however, would not see another women’s Test for 48 years. Since that Test, India have gone on to play 39 more, 22 of them in India – four in Lucknow, three in Mumbai, three in Delhi, and the rest in various other cities. But none in Chennai.They will be returning to Chennai for the first time since 2007, when they played an ODI Quadrangular Series there, to face South Africa in a one-off Test starting June 28.Current India head coach Amol Muzumdar acknowledges the significance of playing at the venue. “It’s a historic ground and we are aware of the history that this place carries. Even though a lot of cricket has not been played on this ground [by women’s sides], we are still aware of what the demands are, the pitch and the ground. We’ll try to cater to that in the coming days.”There’s barely any information out there about the 1976 Test played at Chepauk, barring a basic scorecard. It is evident that the match wasn’t completed; West Indies and India played an innings each. India declared at 218 for 9, Rangaswamy and Diana Edulji both top-scoring with 57.Sudha Shah, who has played the most Tests for India, was the Madras local in the squad. A regular at the stadium for long, she had her entire family cheering for her from the stands in that match. She made 18 runs, getting out to Patricia Whittaker.A newspaper reports on the first day’s play of the first official women’s Test in India, in Bengaluru”It’s a punishment to make me recollect what happened 48 years back,” she says, breaking into laughter. But it doesn’t take long to jog her memory.”I played the ball, it looped out and it ricocheted off the slip fielder’s head… the gully took the catch. Everyone was saying, ‘What luck!’ None of us top-order batters scored , if I remember.”Shah remembers correctly. India’s top three were dismissed for 15, 7 and 18. Then Rangaswamy came in.”I played to build the innings, Diana played the finisher’s job,” says Rangaswamy. “Diana went hammer and tongs. She got a quickfire 50-odd, while I had to build my innings to get my fifty.”Not only did Rangaswamy anchor the innings, she also got two wickets with the ball in the game. Remarkably, she also remembers how she got the two batters out.”Pat Whittaker was caught at slips by Sudha,” she says. “I dismissed Beverly Browne with an inswinging yorker.”The match was not telecast live but there was press coverage for the entire series. Rangaswamy remembers a description of the reception she got from the Chepauk crowd in a newspaper report, in the .”It went: ‘Her arrival was greeted with cheers as is normally given to the Nawab of Pataudi and Ajit Wadekar, the other captains of India. She got a rousing send-off after her half-century’, and things like that.”West Indies ended up playing just 29 overs in the rain-hit game, making 41 for 4. Kulkarni did not bowl in the game owing to a finger injury, but the five-for she picked up in the drawn Bangalore Test had given India the hope that spinners could be crucial in keeping West Indies quiet.”We sensed that the gap wasn’t that big and because our spinners were so good, and particularly because we were playing on our wickets, which wasn’t really suiting them, we had a positive mindset that we could go for a win,” Kulkarni says.Sudha Shah (leftmost) and Shubhangi Kulkarni (rightmost) would go on to occupy important roles in the coaching and administrative setup of women’s cricket in India•Getty ImagesThe historic first Test win came in Patna, in the fourth Test of the series. The players were floored by the fans’ reaction to the win. “Right from the ground to the hotel there were crowds and even when we went to the hotel, there were people outside,” Shah says. “So we went to the balcony to wave to them. It was a thrill at the time because we’d never come across anything like that.”With the women not getting paid to play, they were treated to food or juice by the manager after a good performance.”We never got paid, in my entire cricket career,” Rangaswamy says. “Our love for the game was more. We did it for passion, not money. But I remember in Chennai, I think both the captains – Louise [Browne] and I – got a gold chain with a pendant shaped like a ball from Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers or someone.”On Friday, Shah, who is a Chepauk regular, will be at the stadium, cheering for India from the stands. “A few of us [former team-mates] are planning on going to watch the game together,” she says.Rangaswamy, who’s currently in the US, says she’ll be watching the match on TV despite the odd timings. She watched all three ODIs India played against South Africa last week, and she’s looking forward to watching her favourite, Smriti Mandhana, and her recent favourite Shubha Satheesh, play in the Test.

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Be it cheering the opposition even when their own team loses, or turning out in massive numbers just to watch their favourite cricketer practice, you can’t talk about Chepauk without mentioning the crowd.For Radha and Parth, members of the Bucket Hat Cult, a fan group dedicated to women’s sport, it doesn’t get better than watching their favourite team play at the iconic venue for the first ever time. The group – identified by their “uniform”, the bucket hat – has been a notable presence whenever the women’s team has played in Mumbai since India’s Test against England there in 2023.Their catchy chants and songs – one of them goes, “Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to watch Deepti play all day” – even got players to notice them. “Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues wanted to meet us after the game and appreciated our support,” Parth says.Members of the Bucket Hat Cult, a group of women’s sport enthusiasts, will be at the first Women’s Test in Chennai in 48 years•Bucket Hat Cult Considering how strong the Chennai Super Kings fan base is, Radha thinks it won’t take too long for women’s cricket to pick up in the city. The TNCA has made tickets free for the match, and there are hopes a sizeable crowd will turn up, especially on the weekend.”Just look at what RCB [in the WPL] has done for the Bengaluru crowd,” she says. “From a fan’s perspective, it is pretty evident that women’s matches are just scheduled in Mumbai or neighbouring stadiums without much thought for growing the fan base across the country.”Away from the stadium, 84-year old Vijaya Subramanian, a cricket aficionado who lives in Chennai, will be cheering the women on from her home. Her father introduced her to the sport when she was around six years old and even taught her how to create a cricket scorecard. From the age of 11, she started keeping a cricket diary, in which she meticulously jotted down scores off TV or radio commentary.”She lived for a while in Kolkata, where she never missed a game – be it men’s or women’s – before moving back to Chennai,” her son, Karthik, says. “She watches all the games irrespective of the time. Her memory isn’t great right now. We remember names like Shantha Rangaswamy, Sudha Shah and Diana Edulji now because she used to talk about them so much.”Vijaya’s face lights up when she hears the players’ names. “I’m sure I heard the radio commentary for this match in Kolkata,” she says. “I remember they played well in that series. Rangaswamy used to play so consistently.”Will she be watching the one-off Test starting Friday?”,” [I’ll definitely watch] she says.