India beat England by 270 runs as the first women’s test match in the history of Lord’s cricket ground concluded on Monday with the hosts being all out for 186 while chasing a target of 457.
Lord’s, cricket’s most iconic ground, has been hosting international matches since 1884, and staged its first women’s international in 1976, a 50-over match between England and Australia.
It took another 50 years for a women’s Test, scheduled for four days from Friday, to be held at the ground owned by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which prohibited women from joining the club until 1999.
“Playing at Lord’s is always special… hopefully we’ll get many more (tests here). These kinds of matches bring a lot of happiness,” Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said.
Put in to bat first, opener Smriti Mandhana (83) held firm as India lost two quick wickets, before Issy Wong got her caught behind. Kaur (58) and Deepti Sharma (57) helped the visitors to post 285, while Sophie Ecclestone (3-68) took the last three wickets in quick succession.
Ecclestone’s three-wicket haul made her England’s highest wicket-taker in women’s cricket with 338 wickets across all formats, surpassing Katherine Sciver-Brunt’s 335.
In reply, England posted only 170 as 22-year-old Indian medium-pacer Kranti Gaud took five wickets for 37 runs, becoming the first woman to have her name inscribed on the Lord’s test honours board, reserved for those who score a century, take five wickets in an innings or 10 in a test match at the ground.
“The day the test began, I thought: ‘I’ll get my name on the board for sure’,” player-of-the-match Gaud said.
Two more women soon joined Gaud on the board as Indian wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia (113) scored a crucial century, while Ecclestone got a five-wicket haul. India declared at 341-7 on the third day, setting a target of 457.
Under pressure, England’s top order collapsed as Tamsin Beaumont and Heather Knight, playingin their last international match, were dismissed by Gaud early, leaving the hosts reeling at 34-4.
Mady Villiers (26) tried to limit the damage but she got out when Richa Ghosh, fielding up close at silly mid-off, spectacularly caught a well-timed cover drive at point-blank range, leaving even her teammates shaking their heads in disbelief.
Amy Jones (54) fell early on the fourth day but Ecclestone continued the fight, scoring her first test 50 before Sneh Rana (4-42) bowled her, ending England’s chase.
Source: Khaleej Times