India Women created history at Lord’s and they came out victorious against England Women in the one-off Test. The historic win was another feather in the cap of Indian cricket for women.
Picking up the bat for a mammoth target of 457, England started the fourth day at 130/6, but shortly went down for 186 runs and allowed India a resounding 270-run win. Veteran spinner Sneh Rana dominated the bowling department with four wickets while Kranti Gaud and Salali Satghare dug in with two apiece to cap off the historic victory.
Yastika Bhatia became one of India’s biggest star in the second innings with a brilliant hundred. Her knock of 113 was the first woman in history to registier a Test hundred at Lord’s. Smriti Mandhana continued her impressive form with 70 in the second innings after scoring 83 in the first, while Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on 50 as India declared at 341/7.
Earlier, India posted 285 in the first innings after valuable contributions from Smriti Mandhana (83), captain Harmanpreet Kaur (58), and Deepti Sharma (57). England had a tough start to reply and only managed 170 in 59 overs with Kranti Gaud’s exemplary figures of 5/37 earning India a vital 115-run lead in the first innings.
Before the start of play on the final day, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar visited the Indian dressing room and delivered a motivational pep talk to the team.
The historic win was not just a reflection of India dominance during the Test but also a historic feat in women’s cricket at one of the game’s jewels in addition.