Shafali scores fastest women's Test double ton as India score 525/4 at stumps on day 1 against SA
Chennai, Jun 28: Opener Shafali Verma's record-breaking double century and her formidable 292-run partnership with Smriti Mandhana set the platform for India's massive 525 for 4 on the opening day of their one-off women's Test against South Africa here on Friday.
On a day when records fell like ninepins, India also broke the 89-year-old mark for most runs scored on a single day by 94 runs. England women had racked up 431/2 against New Zealand at Lancaster Park, Christchurch in 1935.
Shafali, 20, reached her double-century off just 194 balls, eclipsing the record of Annabel Sutherland of Australia who achieved the feat off 248 deliveries in a Test against South Africa in February.
Shafali was dismissed soon after, being run out at 205 (197 balls). The young opener's previous best in Tests was 96.
Shafali, playing only in her fifth Test, smashed 23 boundaries and eight maximums during her historic knock.
Shafali also became only the second Indian after former skipper Mithali Raj to hit a double century in Test cricket after almost 22 long years. Mithali's 214 had come off 407 balls and the former India skipper achieved it during the drawn second Test against England at Taunton in August, 2002.
Shafali's partner for most part of her innings on Friday, vice-captain Mandhana, too bettered her Test score of 127 with a knock of 149 off 161 balls.
Jemimah Rodrigues contributed 55 runs. At stumps skipper Harmanpreet Kaur (42 not out) and Richa Ghosh (43 not out) were at the crease.
Brief scores:
India 1st innings 525 for 4 in 98 overs (Shafali Verma 205, Smriti Mandhana 149, Jemimah Rodrigues 55, Harmanpreet Kaur 42 not out, Richa Ghosh 43 not out; Delmi Tucker 2/141).
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Narayana Guru's philosophy counters majoritarianism amid social divisions, says Siddaramaiah
Varkala (Kerala) (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said saint and social reformer Sree Narayana Guru's philosophy remains a powerful answer to rising majoritarianism and social divisions in an India that boasts of economic progress even as unity weakens.
Speaking at the 93rd Sivagiri Pilgrim Conclave at Sivagiri Math, founded by Guru here, Siddaramaiah, the chief guest at the function, lamented that today's India faces a paradox where "we boast of economic growth, digital expansion and global influence, and yet social solidarity is weakening, and hatred is being normalised".
He said caste has not disappeared, but it has just changed its grammar.
Noting that communalism no longer speaks openly of hierarchy, it speaks the language of identity, fear, and majoritarian pride, Siddaramaiah said Guru foresaw this danger.
"He understood that when religion is separated from compassion and ethics, it becomes a tool of domination," Siddaramaiah said.
"Guru's philosophy directly counters religious majoritarianism, cultural nationalism without equality and identity politics without justice. His message reminds us that nation-building without social justice is merely state-building, not democracy," he said.
The Karnataka chief minister said it was no coincidence that after meeting Guru, Mahatma Gandhi sharpened his stance against untouchability, took a stand in favour of a simple life, and refused to attend weddings if they were not inter-caste.
He said that Rabindranath Tagore's idea of the "universal man" was inspired by the works of Guru.
He also shaped the ethical universe of Tagore, who acknowledged that dividing human beings in the name of religion is the greatest injustice, the CM said.
"Thus, Guru stands at the ideological crossroads of modern India by bridging spirituality, rationalism, humanism and social justice," Siddaramaiah said. The conclave was inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to Siddramaiah, Guru's influence was not confined to Kerala.
"His historic dialogue with Mahatma Gandhi in 1925 altered the intellectual course of the freedom movement. It made Gandhiji confront a fundamental truth that “Caste is not cultural diversity, it is institutionalised injustice," he said.
Using the mango tree analogy, Guru revealed that though leaves differ, their essence is the same, making Mahatma Gandhi realise that caste and religion, not diversity, are the world's deepest social problems, the Karnataka CM said. Siddaramaiah also spoke about Guru's impact on Karnataka.
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"Though geographically rooted in Kerala, Guru's influence crossed linguistic and state boundaries, shaping reform movements along the Karnataka coast, especially in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, and parts of Malnad," he said.
He said the Billava, Elava, Ediga, Mogaveera, and other backward communities of coastal Karnataka drew inspiration from Guru's call for dignity, education, and organisation.
"His message strengthened anti-caste assertion and self-respect movements in the region. This is one of the main reasons for strong resistance to attempts by communal forces to divide the people in the region," he said.
The chief minister said Basavanna's Kayaka (dignified labour) finds a direct echo in Narayana Guru's insistence on economic self-reliance alongside spiritual growth.
"Basavanna democratised devotion through Vachanas, Narayana Guru democratized divinity itself, asserting that human beings' exclusions are not graded by birth, but equal by existence. Both transformed religion from a tool of exclusion into a language of social justice," he said.
Siddaramaiah opined that the Sivagiri Pilgrimage cannot remain a yearly ritual.
"It must become a continuous social movement," the chief minister said and called upon religious leaders to speak against hatred, scholars to take Guru's philosophy into classrooms, youth to challenge injustice, not inherit silence and political institutions to align governance with ethical values," he said.
Concluding his address, Siddaramaiah called for an India rooted in dignity, dialogue and equal humanity, saying this was the democratic vision shared by Narayana Guru, Mahatma Gandhi and the Sivagiri movement.
