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Rana’s 10-wicket haul wraps up India’s victory over South Africa
India won the one-off Test against South Africa by 10 wickets on the final session of the final day at Chepauk, keeping the visitors winless in the series so far. Shafali Verma’s double-century, Smriti Mandhana’s 149, Sneh Rana’s sensational 10-wicket haul were multiple high-points for India. The match will also be remembered for the way South Africa fought hard for almost 240 overs in testing conditions.
That South Africa forced India to bat for the second time after declaring at 603 for 6 showed the visitors’ extraordinary determination, coming on the back of the limited red-ball practice. From being bowled out for 266 in the first innings, South Africa rose thanks to centuries each from Laura Wplvaardt and Sune Luus and a resolute Nadine de Klerk to keep the contest alive till the final session.
South Africa started a gloomy day four on 232 for 2, trailing by 105 runs, with Wolvaardt seven short of her maiden hundred. She brought up her century in 259 balls, punishing anything short and wide of off stump, but 15 overs into the game, South Africa lost Marizanne Kapp when she played down the wrong line and was trapped lbw by Deepti Sharma. Delmi Tucker was the next one to fall in the following over when Jemimah Rodrigues took a sharp at cover off Rana. Not long after that, left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad, in her first over of the day, dismissed Wolvaardt for 122. After pitching the first four balls outside off stump, she darted one on middle and leg and it went in quicker than Wolvaardt anticipated to trap her in front.
Thirty overs, 70 runs, three wickets in the morning. India needed just five more for victory but were made to toil for those.
The afternoon session was a quiet one with South Africa scoring 34 runs in 29 overs. De Klerk was an unsung hero in that period. There was joy in her slow-burn, and was a test of her ability to play the long game. She is usually ultra-aggressive in white-ball cricket. De Klerk spent 213 minutes on the field, and notched up her maiden Test fifty in 174 balls with seven fours. It was one of the great blockathons, almost giving away nothing to the Indian spinners.
Sinalo Jafta, retired hurt due to lower limb cramps at 9, came back to bat in the second session, lasting 36. At tea, South Africa were 336 for 8, trailing by one run and seemed like they would bat out the overs to eke out a draw if de Klerk continued her resilience.
But then, a wicket came out of nowhere. Shafali, in her third over of the second innings, got one to turn in to clean up Masabata Klaas. In the next over, Gayakwad ended de Klerk’s innings with a flighted delivery to disturb her stumps. South Africa had managed to push into the lead, but it was only 36 runs. Shafali and Shubha Satheesh, who came in ahead of Smriti Mandhana, took 9.2 overs to chase it down.
The focus shifts to the T20Is quickly in a few days’ time but this was cricket at its finest at Chepauk, where women’s Tests returned for the first time since 1976.
Brief scores:
India Women 603 for 6 dec in 115.1 overs (Shafali Verma 205, Smriti Mandhana 149, Jemimah Rodrigues 55, Richa Ghosh 86, Harmanpreet Kaur 69; Delmi Tucker 2-141) and 37/0 in 9.2 overs (Shafali Verma 24*) beat South Africa Women 266 in 84.3 overs (Laura Wolvaardt 20, Anneke Bosch 39, Marizanne Kapp 74, Sune Luus 65, Nadine de Klerk 39; Sneh Rana 8-77, Deepti Sharma 2-47) and 373 in 154.4 overs (Sunee Luus 109, Laura Wolvaardt 122, Marizanne Kapp 31, Nadine de Klerk 61; Sneh Rana 2-111, Rajeshwari Gayakwad 2-55, Deepti Sharm 2-95) by 10 wickets
[Cricinfo]
Several tankers carrying Iranian oil have crossed the United States blockade line in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a tracking website, two days before Washington and Tehran are to launch more talks after reaching a framework agreement to end their war.
The TankerTrackers website, which monitors oil shipments and storage, on Wednesday identified Iran’s “first crude oil exports in two months”, citing digital tracking data corroborated by satellite imagery.
The talks on a final settlement to end the war, triggered by US Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, are to begin on Friday at Switzerland’s Burgenstock mountain resort as news that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen sent world oil prices tumbling.
According to TankerTrackers, two National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) tankers – the Diona and Hero 2 – carrying a total of 3.8 million barrels of Iranian oil, exited the blockade line on Tuesday while another tanker, Stream, was sailing towards Iranian ports on Wednesday.
A third tanker operated by the NITC and carrying 1 million barrels of Iranian crude sailed past the US Navy’s blockade line in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, according to TankerTrackers.
In a post on X, the maritime tracking service said the Sonia I “exited the blockade line” at 01:11 GMT.
[Aljazeera]
An ODI between Canada and Netherlamds in King City Toronto on Tuesday was abandoned due to a dangerous pitch. The fixture was part of the ongoing ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 competition, which is part of the qualification pathway for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The match was abandoned just 4.1 overs into the Netherlands innings after they had chosen to bat. They were 15 for 1, with Max O’Dowd the batter dismissed for a duck in the second over. The pitch had uneven bounce and the batters were struck several times during the short passage of play.
On June 12, four days before the abandoned match, the ICC had issued a statement saying the pitch at King City that was used for an ODI between USA and the Netherlands on June 8 had been given an “unsatisfactory” rating and one demerit point.
“This was a pitch that fell below the standard expected for this level of cricket,” match referee Phil Thompson had said about the surface for the USA-Netherlands match. “Both captains expressed disappointment with how it turned out, and the match officials assessed it as ‘very poor’. The inconsistent bounce created challenging and potentially unsafe playing conditions. Taking all factors into consideration, I believe the pitch merits an ‘unsatisfactory’ rating.”
According to the ICC’s pitch and outfield monitoring process, pitches that get an “unsatisfactory” rating will be given one demerit point, while an “unfit” pitch rating will result in three demerit points for the venue. Demerit points remain active for a rolling five-year period, and an accumulation of six demerit points will result in the venue being suspended from hosting international matches for 12 months (12 demerit points will lead to a 24-month ban).
(Cricinfo)
Joshua Da Silva and Amir Jangoo have earned recalls to West Indies’ squad for the two-match World Test Championship series at home against Sri Lanka starting later this month, while the two Josephs, Alzarri and Shamar, are back after missing the tours of India and New Zealand late last year because of injuries.
Trevin Imalch had kept wicket when West Indies last played Test cricket, in New Zealand last December, but Da Silva, 33 Test matches old, has returned after scoring 996 runs across the last two seasons of the West Indies Championship. Imlach, who failed with the bat in New Zealand with a total of 81 runs across six innings – after scoring 33 runs in his only Test in India – has been named captain of a West Indies Select XI to play the Sri Lankans in a tour match in Coolidge from June 18 to 21. Roston Chase will continue to captain the Test side.
West Indies vs Sri Lanka Tests
Jangoo, dropped after only one Test appearance, in Multan in January 2025, where he scored 0 and 30, has returned to the side following a fruitful WI Championship in which he scored 411 runs in seven innings. He finished second on the scorers’ table there, only behind Da Silva, who scored 413 in seven outing. The highlight of Jangoo’s season was the 203 not out he scored for Trinidad & Tobago against Leeward Islands
The pair of Alzarri Joseph and Shamar Joseph, meanwhile, last played Test cricket during the home series against Australia in mid-2025.”Every Test series is an opportunity for us to grow as a team and strengthen our identity,” Darren Sammy, the head coach, said in a Cricket West Indies statement. “Sri Lanka are a quality side, so we know we’ll have to be at our best, but we’re excited about the challenge ahead.”For us, it’s about playing with discipline, showing character when the game gets tough, and representing the West Indies with pride. The players have been putting in the work, and we’re looking forward to putting on a strong display for our fans across the Caribbean.”
Some of the squad members are currently participating in a high-performance training camp in Antigua, which began on June 12 and will run till June 22. The members of the Test squad who were also part of the white-ball series against Sri Lanka – West Indies lost the ODIs and won the T20Is – will join the camp on June 15. The Tests will be played in North Sound from June 25 to 29 and July 3 to 7.
“This is a key component of our preparations heading into the series, providing players and coaches with valuable time to enhance and improve the skills we want to see sharpened, based on the areas we need to focus our attention on when facing this opponent,” Sammy said about the camp. “It also gives us the opportunity to put clear objectives and plans in place for the conclusion of the summer against Pakistan.
“Additionally, the four-day warm-up game prior to the series provides the chance for some of our Test hopefuls to play in high-intensity action and create the avenue for more competition within the squad ahead of the upcoming and future series.”
West Indies are currently bottom of the nine-team WTC table, having lost seven of their eight games in the ongoing cycle.
West Indies squad for Test series against Sri Lanka
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Canada-Netherlands ODI abandoned due to dangerous pitch in Toronto
Da Silva and Jangoo earn recalls for West Indies’ Tests against Sri Lanka
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