In the inaugural Women’s Test played at the storied Lord’s on Monday, India defeated England by 270 runs thanks to an outstanding all-around effort.
Despite a resolute half-century from Sophie Ecclestone, India finished formalities in the morning session on day four and dismissed England for 186 in 62.5 overs, needing four wickets to end the game overnight.
India defeated a struggling England at the “Home of Cricket” with a clinical effort in a format they don’t frequently play. England batted for over 90 minutes before falling to Indian spinners after resuming their second innings at 130/6. India had set the hosts a massive target of 457 runs.
Amy Jones, the top scorer for England (54 off 80), was caught at mid-wicket by Sneh Rana, making her the first wicket to fall on the day. Alongside Issy Wong (1 off 33), Sophie Ecclestone, who was dropped twice off Gaud, also batted well, but they were only able to postpone the inevitable.
Lauren Bell and Wong were swiftly removed by Deepti Sharma to tidy up the tail. When Rana eventually got rid of Ecclestone with a stunning bowl, there were jubilation both on the field and in the Indian dressing room.
With Lord’s hosting a Women’s Test 142 years after it hosted the first Men’s Test, both India and England had experienced failure in the previous T20 World Cup, and both teams had a lot on the line.
The foundation of the win for India was laid by Smriti Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia, who scored a memorable hundred on Day 3, before Kranti Gaud headlined the bowling performance with a five-wicket haul and her name on the Lord’s Honours Board.
The Indian batters showed a lot more application than their English counterparts on a pitch that offered seam movement and by day three the odd ball was keeping low.
Sayali Satghare and Gaud, two pacers, outbowled their rivals by making good use of the incline to create lots of seam movement. The pressure produced by the seamers was also maintained by off-spinner Rana.
India’s decisive victory also kept them ahead of England in the longest format. India has won 4 of the 16 Test matches that the teams have played, England has won one, and the other 11 were drawn.
The only time India lost to England was in 1995.
Before the day’s play began, the legendary Sachin Tendulkar gave a motivational speech to the Indian squad before watching the action from the sidelines beside ICC chairman Jay Shah.
Additionally, it was a farewell match for former captain Heather Knight and England veteran Tammy Beaumont.
