It was quite amusing that Lord's, the 'Home of Cricket' took 142 years to welcome the cricketing queens in whites. Well, better late than never. The two team that graced this occasion, England and India gifted us a Test match to remember. There was nothing ordinary in their approach and it awakened a new era of Women's cricket where one would hope that Test matches become more of a regular affair.
On the batting front we saw twin fifties from the likes of Smriti Mandhana and Amy Jones. Yastika Bhatia notched up a stunning hundred. On the bowling front, we saw Kranti Gaud and Sophie Ecclestone pick up memorable fifers. India's next assignment comes in the shortest format of our sport as the 'women in blue' take part in the Asian Games slated to be held in September. England, on the other hand, will welcome neighbours Ireland over for a 3-match ODI series in September.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to take your leave on behalf of my colleagues Pritam Dey, Ghanendra Singh Thakur and Aman. CIAO!
While it has been a heavy defeat for England in this historic Test match, it's also a day to acknowledge the end of two remarkable international careers. Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont have brought the curtain down on their distinguished journeys in England colours.
NUMBERS GAME
Stat: Yastika Bhatia became the first Indian Women's batter to score a century in the third or fourth innings of a Women's Test, surpassing Sandhya Agarwal's 98 against New Zealand at Lucknow in 1985.
Stat: Yastika Bhatia became only the second Indian designated wicketkeeper to score a century in Women's Tests, after Anju Jain's 110 against England at Kolkata in 1995.
Stat: Yastika Bhatia became only the second left-handed Indian batter (Men's or Women's Tests) to score a Test century at Lord's, after Sourav Ganguly's 131 on debut in 1996.
Trivia: Amy Jones is just the second designated wicketkeeper to finish as her team's top scorer in both innings of a Women's Test. The only previous instance was Fowzieh Khalili (84 & 41)* for India against West Indies Women at Lucknow in 1976.
Stat: The designated wicketkeepers aggregated 231 runs in the match, the highest combined tally in a Women's Test, surpassing the previous record of 207 set in the New Zealand Women vs England Women Test at Christchurch in 1935.
Undefeated Women’s Test Streak by a Visiting Team in a Host Country (Min. 5 Tests Played):
England in New Zealand – 10 Tests (5 wins, 5 draws)
India in England – 10 Tests (3 wins, 7 draws)*
Australia in New Zealand – 7 Tests (2 wins, 5 draws)
England in South Africa – 5 Tests (2 wins, 3 draws)
Most Women’s Test Wins as Captain:
5 – Lyn Larsen (Australia)
4 – Alyssa Healy (Australia)
4 – Molly Hide (England)
4 – Harmanpreet Kaur (India)*
Player of the Match Awards for India (Men & Women) in Tests at Lord's:
1979 – Dilip Vengsarkar
1982 – Kapil Dev
1986 – Kapil Dev
2014 – Ishant Sharma
2021 – KL Rahul
2026 – Kranti Gaud*
Most Women's Test Wins by a team against a single opposition:
14 – Australia vs England
9 – England vs Australia
6 – England vs New Zealand
5 – Australia vs India
4 – Australia vs New Zealand
4 – India vs England*
STAT ATTACK: India Women registered their fourth Test win over England Women, their most win against any opposition in Women's Tests. Their next-best record is three wins against South Africa Women.
Trivia:Harmanpreet Kaur became the fourth Indian captain to win a Test (Men & Women) at Lord's, after Kapil Dev (1986), MS Dhoni (2014) and Virat Kohli (2021).