London: Off-spinner Sneh Rana picked a superb four-wicket haul as a clinical Indian team scripted history by beating England by 270 runs to clinch a victory in the historic first-ever Women’s Test match at Lord’s on Monday.
Chasing an improbable world-record target of 457 runs, England’s lower-order resistance was systematically dismantled by the Indian spin duo of Rana (4-42) and Deepti Sharma (2-36) in the first session, as the hosts were bundled out for 186 in 62.5 overs.It meant that Harmanpreet Kaur and her team secured a highly-deserving and comprehensive victory at the iconic venue. With this triumph, India has also extended their formidable run in red-ball cricket, by securing their seventh victory in last 11 Test matches. Crucially, they have maintained their proud unbeaten record in the longest format on English soil.
The comprehensive victory coming in front of legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar, who gave a pep talk to the Indian team before the start of day’s play, as well as ICC Chairman Jay Shah, BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla and Secretary Devajit Saikia encapsulated India’s absolute dominance in all three facets of the game throughout the four days.
Apart from Sneh, India’s heroes of the memorable victory include vice-captain Mandhana hitting 83 and 70 before Yastika Bhatia batted England out of the contest with a stunning 113 - the first century by a women’s Test batter at Lord’s and Richa Ghosh smashing an unbeaten 52-ball 50 and Kranti Gaud picking the first wicket-haul at the iconic venue in Tests. It took 142 years for Lord’s to host its first Women’s Test, and India ensured they made it one to remember for a long time.
Brief Scores: India 285 and 341/7 dec in 86.3 overs (Yastika Bhatia 113; Sophie Ecclestone 5-118) beat England 170 and 186 in 62.5 overs (Amy Jones 54, Sophie Ecclestone 50; Sneh Rana 4-42, Sayali Satghare 2-24) by 270 runs. IANS
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