A gargantuan 479-run target and a masterful spell with the ball helped the India Women's National Cricket Team thwart England 347 runs before the set target on Saturday, December 16, 2023. India won the one-off Test in Navi Mumbai with room to spare, registering the biggest margin of victory in the history of Women's Test Cricket while doing so. (Cricket News)
As the Women in Blue surpassed Sri Lanka's 309-run triumph over Pakistan from two-and-a-half decades ago, they also claimed just their sixth Test win in history. The result brought parity to India's historic test record, which, after the bout against England, stands at six wins, six losses, and 27 draws from 39 games since the team first forayed into the format almost half a century earlier.
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Below, we revisit all six of those wins, starting from the maiden triumph over West Indies in 1976 to the most recent victory over England!
India Women vs West Indies Women, Patna, 1976
The Indian Women's National Cricket Team began their venture into the long format with a six-game series against West Indies on home turf in 1976. Still new to Tests, the pair ground out four draws from the six games and claimed a win each. India, after drawing in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Delhi, drew first blood, beating the visitors in Patna by five wickets. Propelled by the brilliane of Shubhangi Kulkarni and Diana Edulji, India restricted West Indies to 127 and 88 runs in two innings before chasing down the total with plenty to spare.
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India Women vs South Africa Women, Paarl, 2002
India had to wait 26 years for their second Test win, which they achieved on their Tour of South Africa in 2002. Stopping momentarily in Paarl for a one-off Test, the Women in Blue ensured that they resumed their journey with another box ticked by beating the hosts by ten wickets. Batting first, India racked up 404 runs, courtesy of a brilliant top and middle order display, before hunting down their opponents for almost a third of that total. Within the necessary limits, India forced South Africa into a follow-on and later chased the requisite 13 runs to win the match.
India Women vs England Women, Tauton, 2006
The Indian Women's Cricket Team, after another lengthy hiatus, registered their third Test win in 2006, sparking a three-match winning streak that would span eight years. Playing a two-game Test series in England, India drew the hosts in the first game in Leicester before beating them comfortably in Tauton. Repeating what had happened in their last Test win, the Women in Blue set their opponents an insurmountable total in the first innings, forced them to follow-on after an insignificant fightback, and won the game with a 98-run chase. Anjum Chopra emerged as the star of the match with a 295-ball-98.
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India Women vs England Women, Wormsley, 2014
India returned to England for a one-off Test in 2014, eight years after they had last played a game in this format. At the Wormsley-based bout, the Women in Blue secured a second successive win for the first time in history, beating the opponents by six wickets. Niranjana Nagarajan and Jhulan Goswami shone with the ball, the former claiming four wickets in the first innings while the latter in the second. Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj, meawhile, led the team to victory with half-centuries in the final chase. Fun fact, Heather Knight and Harmanpreet Kaur - the most recent Test captains for their respective teams - both played in the match and scored ten runs between them in four innings! The two have come a far way since then.
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India Women vs South Africa Women, Mysore, 2014
Wind in their sails, the India Women's Natioanl Cricket Team battled South Africa for a one-off Test in Mysore, mere months after their latest victory oveer England. In a repeat of the proceedings from 2002, India set their opponents a massive target of 400 from the first innings before bowling them out for 234 and 132 runs respectively, with a follow-on in play. The hosts, as such, won the match by an innings and 34 runs, with much of the credit falling to centurions Thirush Kamini (192) and Punam Raut (130).
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India Women vs England Women, Mumbai, 2023
Tracing our steps through Indian Women's Test history, we reach present day, where, just under a day ago (at the time of writing), Team India registered the biggest-ever win in Women's Test Cricket. Handed their test debuts, Shubha Satheesh and Jeremiah Rodrigues set India en-route to a big total with a half-century each, while Deepti Sharma ensured that England fell significantly short of the target from their turn. Batting again, the Women in Blue set their opponents a 479-run target to win the match, only for Deepti to strike again with a four-wicket-haul. She claimed nine wickets from two innings in the end and was named the Player of the Match.
