India's 270-run win was the fourth biggest win of women's Test history, while the second-biggest for India
Krani Gaud and Yastika became the first two India women to get their names on the Lord's honors board
Harmanpreet Kaur now becomes the most successful Indian Test captain with four wins surpassing Mithali Raj (3 wins)
India thrashed England by 270 runs in the historic one-off Test at Lord's Cricket Ground on Monday, July 13. The emphatic victory came as the perfect antidote to the disappointment of failing to qualify for the knockout stage of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup last month.
It was a complete team effort by the Indian women's team, as acknowledged by the skipper after the match. The hosts never looked in the match right from Day 2, where they were bundled out for 170 in response to India's first innings score of 285, thus conceding a significant lead of 115 runs on which the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side capitalized well to bat England out of the match by posting a fourth innings target of 457 runs.
England's batters offered little resistance across both innings and were eventually bowled out for just 180 in pursuit of a daunting 457-run target, handing India an emphatic 270-run victory.
Cricket is a game of numbers, and apart from its historic significance, this match also proved to be a statistician's dream as several milestones were achieved and the record books were updated.
Women's Test Makes Debut At Lords
It took 92 years and 154 men's Tests for Lord's to host its first women's Test, with the one-off match between India and England marking a historic milestone for the iconic venue.
While it took decades of perseverance from generations of women cricketers, administrators and advocates to overcome long-standing barriers and push the game towards greater inclusivity, Lord's finally opening its doors to women's Test cricket stands as a significant step forward—one that many hope will pave the way for more such occasions in the years to come.
Two Indian Women's On Lord's Honors Board
Kranti Gaud became the first woman cricketer from India to get her name etched on the Lord's honors board after a spectacular five-wicket haul in the second innings of the match.
Gaud registered figures of 17-37-5 to dismantle England's 1st innings at just 170 and give a significant first innings lead of 115 runs to her team. These are third-best figures for an Indian woman cricketer in England. She also finished the match with figures of 7/91, which are second-best for a women cricketer in England
Yastika Bhatia followed Gaud's footsteps in the next innings and slammed the first hundred by a woman cricketer at Lord's to get herself up on the honors board with a scintillating 113-run knock.
Bhatia's 113 is the highest score for any Indian woman wicketkeeper batter in Tests. She is the only the second wicketkeeper batter to score a ton in international cricket after Anju Jain, who scored 110 against England in Kolkata back in 1995.
4th Biggest Test Win By Runs In Women's Cricket
India's 270-run victory against England marks their second biggest win in Tests, while fourth overall in international women's cricket.
India posted a mammoth 457-run target against England in the fourth innings, which is the second-highest after 479, set by India against the same opposition in Navi Mumbai in 2023. Harmanpreet Kaur's side won that match by a huge 347-run margin - the biggest win in international women's cricket to date.
Harman Becomes India's Most-Successful Test Captain
This was Harmanpreet Kaur's fourth Test win for India in just five matches. With this, she has surpassed Mitali Raj (3 wins) to become India's most successful captain in Tests. Overall, she is now only behind Australia's Lyn Larsen, who has five wins under her belt, while England's Molly Hide and Australia's Alyssa Healy also have four Test wins each.
India's Undefeated Run In England Continues
This was India's 10th match in England and they haven't lost in either of them. Only England have such a long unbeaten streak in any country - ive wins and five draws in New Zealand.
Milestone Mandhana At It Again
Smriti Mandhana with 788 runs has become the second highest run-getter in women's Test cricket after Sandhya Agarwal (1110 runs). Mandhana's twin half-centuries at Lord's marked the fourth instance of an Indian batter scoring fifty-plus scores in both innings of a women's Test.
The Lord's Test also marked Mandhana's 300th international appearance, making the 29-year-old the youngest player to reach the milestone in women's cricket.
