​India and England shared the honours on an absorbing first day of the historic inaugural women’s Test at Lord’s, as the visitors finished on 285 all out and England struggled to 21/1 at stumps on Friday. After England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and opted to field, India looked set for a significantly bigger total thanks to eye-catching half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma. Yet a late collapse allowed England to wrest back some control before play ended, setting up a tense second day.
The hosts faced 11 overs in fading light but lost opener Tammy Beaumont cheaply, leaving the match delicately poised heading into Day 2. India, too, began shakily, with Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia both back in the pavilion early. Mandhana, however, once again illustrated her class with a fluent 83 off 108 balls. The left-hander was aggressive from the start, threading classy drives through the covers and punishing anything even marginally short or wide. She struck 11 fours and a six in guiding India to a substantial scoreboard position while forging critical partnerships that helped the visitors recover from their early blows. Jemimah Rodrigues appeared comfortable during a brief but valuable stand alongside Mandhana before her promising start was cut short.
Captain Harmanpreet Kaur then joined Mandhana to anchor the innings with a telling 89-run partnership. Mandhana led the charge, while Harmanpreet held the innings together with a patient 58 off 121 deliveries, ensuring India remained firmly in control through the afternoon session. By the time India reached 190/3, they seemed poised to push past 350. But Mandhana’s dismissal swung the momentum sharply in England’s favour. The England spin attack, headed by Sophie Ecclestone, exploited the older ball to great effect. Ecclestone bowled with sharp turn and bounce to finish with 3/68, and debutant Mady Villiers also made an immediate impact as India’s accumulating advantage began to unravel.
With wickets tumbling, Deepti Sharma steadied India with a composed counterattack, producing 57 from 87 balls and striking seven boundaries as she guided the innings through a tricky phase and helped India to a competitive 285 all out in 74.5 overs. Sharma’s resilience proved pivotal as the lower order contributed useful partnerships to keep India’s total within striking distance.
For England, the early innings of the day featured a setback when Kranti Gaud dismissed Tammy Beaumont for a mere two, puncturing their progress at the start of the evening. Maia Bouchier then looked assured in an unbeaten 17, and Heather Knight remained not out on 1 as England closed on 21/1 from 11 overs, still trailing India by 264 runs as night fell.
Scores at stumps: India 285 all out in 74.5 overs (Mandhana 83, Harmanpreet Kaur 58, Deepti Sharma 57; Ecclestone 3/68, Wong 2/41) and England 21/1 in 11 overs (Maia Bouchier 17*, Heather Knight 1*; Gaud 1/8). This match marked the first ever women’s Test at Lord’s, adding a historic chapter to the ongoing development of women’s cricket in England and India and setting the stage for an enthralling Day 2.