New Delhi: The Indian women’s team’s historic victory over England in the first-ever women’s Test match played at Lord’s drew widespread praise from the cricketing world. Former and current players lauded the excellent all-round performance of Harmanpreet Kaur’s team in the magnificent 270-run win. Many, including former captain Ajinkya Rahane, former all-rounder Irfan Pathan, and legendary batter Mithali Raj, praised Harmanpreet Kaur’s team side for its commanding all-round display. The victory also extended India’s unbeaten record in women’s Test cricket on English soil.
Defending a target of 457 runs, India secured victory by bowling England out for 186. Off-spinner Sneh Rana claimed 4 wickets for 42 runs, while Deepti Sharma took two wickets, bringing England’s struggle to an end on the fourth day.
The visiting team dominated the match on the back of brilliant individual performances. Yastika Bhatia became the first woman to score a Test century (113 runs) at Lord’s, Smriti Mandhana scored 83 and 70 runs across the two innings respectively, and Kranti Gaud achieved the feat of taking a five-wicket haul in a women’s Test at this iconic venue. Richa Ghosh also scored an unbeaten half-century.
Achieved in the presence of cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and senior BCCI officials, this victory marked India’s seventh win in their last 11 women’s Test matches and represented another significant milestone in the team’s progress in red-ball cricket.
