But this is Kapp we’re speaking about. She knows what it is like to show resolve in tough situations.
South Africa were also heading into the women’s Test with barely any practice. They had a camp at home before the series where they trained specifically to play spin. In the two days leading up to the game, they trained at the Chepauk nets against Tamil Nadu’s Under-14 and Under-16 boys.
On Saturday afternoon, Rana was relishing what the wicket was offering. Some balls were turning and some were going straight. The odd ball was keeping low, too. Anneke Bosch had just been caught at slip playing for the spin. Kapp walked in to bat shortly before tea, with a slip and short leg in place. India fielders were incessantly chirping around the batters. The Chennai crowd, who are still relatively new to women’s cricket, were just getting behind their players with constant cheers and whistles.
The first ball Rana bowled to Kapp turned in sharply and kept low. Kapp knew what she was in for.
In the first Rana over she faced after tea, she leaned into a half-volley to drive it past extra cover for her first boundary. She displayed exquisite timing to get her next few boundaries, against fast bowlers. When spinners came to bowl from both ends, she trusted her defence and not once brought out the sweep. She was quick to get onto the back foot to defend and ready to press forward to block on off stump when the ball was spinning back in. She appeared unflustered. She was in the zone.
“The two offspinners [Rana and Deepti Sharma] bowled exceptionally today,” Luus said after the match. “They were hitting those revs and we didn’t know where to go – back or forward – when the balls were popping up or staying low. They’ve really bowled exceptionally. But Kappie and I, we needed to just build a partnership. Her game is so sorted at the moment that I had full confidence in her to stick with me and to just get through that period. No bowler is good enough to bowl on the spot every single ball for many overs. So we knew at some point she [Rana] is going to give us something, either just to get off strike or to get that boundary. We just needed to be patient.”
One of her defining shots of the day was when she got under a flighted Rana delivery to loft it over covers for a four. And another one, against Rajeshwari Gayakwad, when she got to the pitch of the ball to drive it straight down the ground to complete her fifty.
But Kapp had to be constantly reminded to not get ahead of herself even while she was doing all this. Luus, at the other end, had to help her out with that.
“She knew that she needed to be patient, and she still had a long way to go. So I think my job today was really just have those conversations with her. I think some of the balls I went down on the pitch and just said a bit of words to her just to keep her calm.”
Sune Luus on her conversations with Kapp
“She’s coming off so many runs at the moment and she’s hitting that purple patch in her career,” Luus said. “There was a lot of conversation about just me keeping her calm today, because she felt she was hitting the ball so nicely. In that space, you feel like you can just hit every ball and just go where you wanted to go.
“But she knew that she needed to be patient, and she still had a long way to go. So I think my job today was really just have those conversations with her. I think some of the balls I went down on the pitch and just said a bit of words to her just to keep her calm. She just needed to be level-headed today and and she just asked me to help her out with that. So I think those were the conversations we had today.”
Kapp has an excellent record spinners in ODIs. Since 2021, she has scored 746 runs at an average of 57.38 against spin, and specifically against India spinners, she averages 59.33. She’s faced these bowlers several times before. But on Saturday, she was playing a different game against them. She exuded calm and authority, and even battled cramps and back strain in the middle. She briefly went down right before the end of the day and was tended to by the physios but was soon back up. It’s also worth noting that she was doing this while managing her workload – she has not been bowling in the series – following a back injury.
By the time the day ended, the chirps from the close-in fielders died down but the Chennai crowd rose up to applaud her 158-minute effort.
But the job is not done yet. South Africa are still 367 runs behind. They need to get past 453 to avoid follow-on. Luus believes Kapp is capable of replicating her heroics against England to keep South Africa afloat.
“It’s very impressive to bat with someone [like her],” Luus said. “Her game is just sorted. She knows what she wants to do. She looks invincible at the moment, and I’m hoping she gets another 150 and maybe convert it to 200 tomorrow.”
Sruthi Ravindranath is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
