India 285 (Mandhana 83, Harmanpreet 58, Deepti 57) and 341 on 7 Dec. (Bhatia 113, Mandana 70, Richa 50*, Ecclestone 5-118) win England 170 (Jones 52, Goud 5-37) and 186 (Jones 54, Ecclestone 50, Rana 4-42) for 270 runs
Indian spinners made light work of England on the final day of the first-ever women’s Test at Lord’s, registering a 270-run victory in 95 minutes. Sophie Ecclestone scored an audacious international half-century, but when she was bowled by Sneh Rana for her fourth wicket of the innings and sixth of the match, India had their fourth-highest run win in the women’s competition. Tests.
Amy Jones added two more runs to her overnight score of 52 before she picked Shafali Verma at midwicket on the 18th ball of the fourth day, giving Rana her third wicket of the innings and exposing England’s tail.
On Sunday, India asked England to make a mammoth 457 runs in the fourth innings, thanks in large part to Jastika Bhatia’s century which put her on the Lord’s Test honors board along with teammate Kranti Gowd, who had already written his name on the bowler’s board on the second day.
Ecclestone, whose five-wicket haul in India’s second innings put her name next to God’s on the famous honors board, resumed Day 1 with her team 130 for 6 and still needing 327.
She made her fifty off 61 balls, but only fended off four more deliveries before she fell, unable to hold one as it fell and spun between bat and pad, rattling the stumps. Lauren Filer, who took the first wicket of the match, remained unbeaten with her 22-ball knock off a single boundary.
Issy Wong fought off 33 balls for just 1 before Deepti Sharma struck her fifth shot of the day, rounding Wong’s front defense and smashing the stumps.
Lauren Bell defied the stomach pain that kept her out for most of India’s innings on day three to join Ecclestone at the crease. But her stay was short-lived as Deepti took her second wicket in seven balls by swinging one back sharply across the wicket and hitting the top of the stumps.
Heather Knight, the former England captain, and opening batter Tammy Beaumont were denied a fairytale farewell after calling it quits before the match, being dismissed for 13 and a golden duck respectively in England’s second innings on day three. The match belonged to India, who dominated throughout the match, initially with a solid performance after being sent in by England captain Nat Sciver-Brant, with Smriti Mandhana top-scoring with 83 and Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti also reaching half-centuries. Gowda’s 5 for 37 then restricted England to a 115-run deficit in the first innings before Bhatia put the match out of reach with her 113, well supported by Richie Ghosh’s unbeaten fifty and another half-century from Mandhana.
Gowde and fellow seamer Sayali Satgare made early inroads, sharing four wickets between them on the third evening, with Rana also picking up two on the third day.