England had set a record-breaking target of 457 for victory, but were dismissed for 186 just before lunch on their final day of four matches.
Published July 13, 2026
India defeated England by 270 runs to win the first women’s Test at London’s Lord’s Cricket Ground, with Sune Rana and Deepti Sharma sharing the last four wickets.
England set a record-breaking target of 457 points for victory but were dismissed for 186 just before lunch on Monday’s final day of four matches.
Rana finished her breakthrough match with 4-42, removing Amy Jones for 54 and bowling Sophie Ecclestone for 50.
Fellow spinner Sharma scored on the wickets of Issie Wong and Lauren Bell as England crumbled in front of a crowd that included Indian men’s cricket great Sachin Tendulkar.
At the T20 World Cup, held in the “home of cricket”, India lost in the group stage to eventual champions Australia, but with this victory they ended their tour with fond memories of Lord’s.
England, by contrast, struggled to adapt to the demands of the longer format in a match that started just days after losing the T20 World Cup final to Australia at Lord’s on July 5.
The second-highest Test turnaround in terms of runs, and fourth defeat in five Tests, was not what England had hoped for as they dismissed Tammy Beaumont and former captain Heather Knight in the veteran batsman’s final appearance before international retirement.
The match was a personal victory for India’s Kranti Gaud and Jastika Bhatia, who each took five wickets in a women’s Test at Lord’s, making them the first women to score runs in a century.
Gaud took impressive figures of 5-37 in England’s first innings 170, while wicketkeeper Bhatia’s 113 (her first century in the international format) was the cornerstone of India’s impressive second innings declaration of 341-7.
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur praised the top order as opener batsman Smriti Mandhana hit 50 in both innings.
“Their batting was great to watch in this Test match,” Kaul said at the presentation ceremony.
“Bhatia is a great batsman. I had really strong feelings for her and that’s why I put her in the number 11. And I’m really happy with her play.”
Gaud, a seam bowler, also took 2-54 in his second innings and was named player of the match.
“Growing up, I never imagined something like this would happen, but the moment the test started, I knew I wanted to put my name on the honor board,” Gaud said.
“I did exactly what my coach told me to do. My strength is hitting the right length and the ball moved and did its job.”
“Special India”
With the defeat, England are still looking to win their first home women’s Test since 2005.
England manager Charlotte Edwards told Sky Sports: “We’re really disappointed overall.”
“It was really great to be in such a historic Test match and opportunity, but to not play close to my best over the course of four days…”
The former England captain added: “A lot of credit has to go to India. I thought they were exceptional. They were really disciplined with the bat and the ball.”
Current England captain Nat Silver-Brunt lamented the lack of time between formats, but said: “As a cricketer you have to prepare for that and recover as much as possible before preparing for a Test match.”
England restarted from a miserable 130-6.
The highest number of fourth-inning chase successes in a women’s Test is 198 in the 2011 match between Australia and England in Sydney.
England’s slim hopes of success rested on wicketkeeper Jones, who finished his second fifty in the game with 52 not out.
However, Jones added just two runs to his overnight total when he pulled Rana to midwicket.
The visiting team dropped a few catches, albeit with rare clumsiness. But it didn’t take long for Indian fans to scream in joy as they enjoyed yet another sun-drenched day at Lord’s.
Although spectators were sparse on Monday, the total number of participants over the four days was 37,846, a new record for a women’s Test.
