India strengthened their grip on the legendary Women’s Test at Lord’s with an unbeaten second day, leaving England eyeing a big task. After missing the hosts for just 170 to gain a 115-run first-innings lead, the visitors hit hard to reach 154/1 in their second innings, stretching their total to 269 runs and nine wickets.If the opening day was all about India’s batsmen, Day Two was defined by Kranti Gaud’s rousing speech before Smriti Mandhana explained why she remains the backbone of India’s batting team.
Kranti Gaud creates a spell to describe the work
England resumed in the morning on 21/1, hoping to clear India’s first total of 285. Instead, they ran into the Indian pace attack. Gaud struck early to remove Maia Bouchier before Sneh Rana broke his promise by dismissing Amy Jones, whose quickfire 52 off 62 balls was the only bright spot in England’s innings.After Jones left, England’s resistance faded. Gaud attacked the stumps relentlessly, extracting the movement from Lord’s top and revealing the underpinnings with good seam bowling control. She finished with a memorable five-wicket haul, becoming the youngest Indian woman fast bowler to register a fifth Test haul, surpassing Jhulan Goswami’s record.Her finish also became the first five-wicket haul by a pace bowler in women’s Tests for England since Ellyse Perry’s 6/32 in 2015, when England’s 170 became their first third-order total against India at home.
Mandhana and Shafali closed the door on England
With a good starting lead, India resisted any temptation to rush the run. Instead, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma batted with ease, disrupting England’s new ball before they started to improve.The pair added 88 runs for the opening wicket, which frustrated the batsmen for almost the entire session. In doing so, she registered her seventh 50-plus partnership in Women’s Tests, more than any other in the history of the format, surpassing former Indian duo Sandhya Agarwal and Sudha Shah. Shafali looked good before falling on 33, trying to tackle Sophie Ecclestone, but her dismissal did little to slow India’s progress.
Mandhana leads from the front again
Mandhana continued his Test success with another convincing innings, not out on 69 at stumps. The left-hander combines patience and elegant bowling, which does not allow England’s bowlers to struggle.He then found another reliable partner in Yastika Bhatia, who scored a steady 39 not out. Together, the pair added an unbeaten fifty-run stand to boost India’s lead to over 250 and leave England with little encouragement heading into the third day.
India Eyes Biggest Success at Home of Cricket
With a lead of 269, nine wickets still intact and six overs remaining, India will enter Day 3 strong.
| Innings | The goal | Top Players |
|---|---|---|
| India Women – 1st Innings | 285 all | Smriti Mandhana 83, Harmanpreet Kaur 58, Deepti Sharma 57; Sophie Ecclestone 3/68 |
| England Women – 1st Innings | 170 total | Amy Jones 52, Nat Sciver-Brunt 44; Kranti Gaud 5/37, Sayali Satghare 2/40, Sneh Rana 2/41 |
| India Women – 2nd Innings | 154/1 (42 overs) | Smriti Mandhana 69*, Yastika Bhatia 39*, Shafali Verma 33; Sophie Ecclestone 1/46 |
| Match Situation | Indian women lead by 269 runs | 9 wickets in hand |
