Wolvaardt praises South Africa's 'grit and determination' after loss in one-off Test against India
Wolvaardt praises South Africa's 'grit and determination' after loss in one-off Test against India
NEW DELHI: South Africa women's captain Laura Wolvaardt commended her team's resilience and determination despite their comprehensive 10-wicket loss to India in the one-off Test in Chennai.
South Africa faced a tough challenge from the outset, with India amassing a record-breaking 525/4 on Day One, the highest score in a single day of women's Tests. India eventually declared at 603/6, setting a new high for their total score.
Despite being bowled out for just 266 in their first innings, South Africa showed resilience in the second innings, forcing India to bat again after following on. They managed to push the match to the final day, albeit with a narrow lead of 36 runs.
"To lose is a bit disappointing, but the character shown by the group over the last two days has been absolutely amazing,” PTI quoted Wolvaardt as saying to the media after the match.
"The grit and determination of this group were amazing and it will do a lot of good for us," she added.
Wolvaardt played a determined innings, scoring 122 runs off 314 balls, while Sune Luus contributed with a century, cracking 109 runs. Their efforts helped South Africa delay the inevitable in the one-off Test.
"To concede more than 500 runs on Day One, I don't think many would have thought for the match to go to the final session of Day Four. We tried to show a bit more intent in the first innings and get closer to the score, but their spinners were accurate,” Wolvaardt said.
"In the second (innings), we thought to stretch it out and bat as deep as we could. My goal was to bat throughout the day (on Day 3), along with that big partnership with Sune,” she added.
Reiterating her earlier point about the lack of practice with the red ball for South African players, Wolvaardt expressed satisfaction with her team's effort in the one-off Test against India.
"The number of balls they (South Africa batters) faced today, mostly being white-ball players and taking the innings deep down was amazing,” she said.
Wolvaardt and Luus forged a crucial 190-run partnership for the second wicket during the match.
"(It was) very special. She batted brilliantly. I was struggling to score at the strike rate of 20 and then she came and started whacking them over the top.
"Her bravery and execution in the innings was amazing. She picked the balls perfectly, attacked them, and showed a lot of patience. She is seen as a reliable player, quite explosive in T20s. To see her knuckle down in both innings was very impressive,” Wolvaardt said.
Wolvaardt also praised Nadine de Klerk for her all-round performance during the match.
"She is an absolutely great player to have on my team. The character and fight she shows in any game is amazing," she continued.
"The first day, we saw her fielding package, as she threw her body around and dived, besides bowling 10 or 12 overs,” she said.
"She is just starting to show what she can do with the bat. She can really take the game away from the opposition in white ball. She also helped me a lot with the captaincy stuff," Wolvaardt said.
For more news like this visit TOI. Get all the Latest News, City News, India News, Business News, and Sports News. For Entertainment News, TV News, and Lifestyle Tips visit Etimes