Bizarre! Shafali Verma fields at covers with helmet on during one-off Test between India and South Africa

Shafali Verma enjoyed a stunning outing in the one-off Test between India and South Africa at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. 

The young opener shattered record books by scoring a whirlwind double-century in the first innings of the Test. And after impressing and all with her batting, Shafali Verma, on Monday (July 1), left many perplexed with her fielding tactic. She was seen fielding at covers while wearing a helmet.

Usually, the fielders standing close to the batter wear helmets in order to avoid any injury as they hardly get the time to react from such a close distance. However, Shafali Verma decided to have the helmet on while she was fielding at cover during the second innings of the Test.

 

Shafali Verma fielding at covers with a helmet 🤣🤣 #INDvSA @sportstarweb pic.twitter.com/RsSdW4MBBi

— Lavanya 🎙️🎥👩🏻‍💻 (@lav_narayanan) July 1, 2024

India register big win:

Talking about the game, India thrashed South Africa by 10 wickets in the recently-concluded one-off Test. Chasing a modest total of 37 runs, India chased down the total in less than 10 overs without losing a wicket. Shafali Verma scored 24 runs with the help of three fours and a six while Shubha Satheesh remained unbeaten on 13. 

Earlier in the game, Shafali Verma's maiden Test double-century powered India to their highest-ever Test total as they scored 603 for 6 (declared). The right-handed batter smashed a 194-ball double ton to break the record for the fastest double-century in a women's Test. The record was previously held by Australia's Annabel Sutherland who had scored a 248-ball double-century against South Africa earlier this year. 

Verma scored 205 runs off 197 balls with the help of 23 fours and 8 sixes. Her opening partner Smriti Mandhana also played a brilliant knock of 149 runs as the openers shared a big stand of 292 runs. The other batters to make useful contributions with the bat were Richa Ghosh (86), captain Harmanpreet Kaur (69), and Jemimah Rodrigues (55).

In reply, South Africa finished their first innings on 266 runs with Sune Luus and Marizanne Kapp scoring fifties. For India, Sneh Rana starred with the ball, taking 8 wickets. Asked to follow on, South Africa did well in the second innings and scored 373 runs to avoid an innings defeat. Captain Laura Wolvaardt top-scored for her side, scoring 122 while Luus scored 109.