​Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma shared the last four wickets as India completed a 270-run thrashing of England to claim the first women’s Test at Lord’s. England were set a record target of 457 for victory but were dismissed for 186 shortly before lunch on the final day. Rana finished with 4-42, grabbing Amy Jones for 54 and ending the landmark match when she bowled Sophie Ecclestone for 50. Sharma, also a spinner, added the wickets of Issy Wong and Lauren Bell as England faltered in front of a crowd that included India’s great Sachin Tendulkar.
India dominated in all departments of a match being played at Lord’s 142 years after the ground hosted its first men’s Test and decades after the first women’s game of any kind there—a 1976 one-day international between England and Australia. Victory capped a tour in which India departed Lord’s with joyous memories after their T20 World Cup campaign in the group stage, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Australia.
England, by contrast, struggled to adapt to the longer format in a match that began just days after their T20 World Cup final defeat to Australia at Lord’s on July 5. The defeat was their second-heaviest by runs in a Test and their fourth loss in five matches, not the way to send off Tammy Beaumont and former captain Heather Knight in their final international appearances as veteran batters.
The match also marked a personal triumph for India’s Kranti Gaud and Yastika Bhatia, the first women to claim five wickets and to score a century respectively in a women’s Test at Lord’s. Gaud produced an excellent 5-37 in England’s first innings 170, while wicketkeeper Bhatia’s 113—her first century in any international format—proved the backbone of India’s imposing second-innings 341-7 declared.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur lauded her top order, with opener Smriti Mandhana contributing fifties in both innings. “In this Test match, the way they batted was outstanding to watch,” Kaur said at the presentation ceremony. “Bhatia is a great batter. I had a really strong feeling for her—that’s why we included her in the eleven—and I’m really happy with the way she played.” Gaud, named player of the match, also took 2-54 in the second innings. “Growing up I never imagined something like this would happen, but the moment the Test started I wanted to put my name on the honours board,” Gaud remarked. “I stuck to what the coaches told me. My strength is to hit the right length, and the ball moved and did its bit.”
Defeat left England still seeking their first home win in a women’s Test since 2005. “I’m disappointed all round, really,” England coach Charlotte Edwards told Sky Sports.