Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma rewrite history by compiling highest partnership for the first wicket in women's Test cricket

Indian women's team's star batsmen Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma have set a new world record for opening partnership in women's Test cricket on Friday. Both the batsmen made a big partnership of 292 runs for the first wicket on the first day of the only Test being played against South Africa.

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Indian pair broke 20-year-old record

Mandhana and Shafali broke the 20-year-old record of Pakistan. Earlier in the year 2004, Pakistan's pair of Sajjida Shah and Kiran Baluch had added 241 runs against West Indies in the Karachi Test. Now the Indian pair has left this record behind.

Partnership for any wicket in women's Test cricket

If we talk about partnership for any wicket in women's Test cricket, this record of Shafali and Mandhana has now become the second biggest partnership. The record for the highest partnership in women's Test cricket for any wicket is in the name of Australian batsmen Lindsay Reeler and Denise Annetts, who added 309 runs for the third wicket against England in the Wetherby (England) Test in 1987.

Shafali-Mandhana left behind Punam Raut and Thirush Kamini

Shafali and Mandhana thus improved their previous best partnership of 167 runs against England in Bristol in 2021. With this, both of them also left behind the previous highest Indian partnership for any wicket. Earlier this record was in the name of Punam Raut and Thirush Kamini, who had made a partnership of 275 against South Africa in Mysore in 2014.

Shefali became fourth Indian player to score more than 150 runs

The Mandhana-Shafali partnership was broken by Delmi Tucker by dismissing Mandhana for 149 runs. From the other end, Shefali became the fourth Indian player to score more than 150 runs in Tests. Before her, Mithali Raj, Thirush Kamini, and Sandhya Agarwal have achieved this feat.

India has scored 525 runs for 4 wickets in 98 overs in Day 1. Shafali (205) was run out after scoring a double-century. Apart from Smriti and Shafali, India lost two more wickets in the form of Shubha Satheesh (5) and Jemimah Rodrigues (55).

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Highest partnership for any wicket in women's Test cricket