India Women had their greatest success in Test cricket history when they beat England by 280 runs in the first women’s Test match at Lord’s Cricket Ground. Not only did India win the biggest overseas Test victory but also the team became the first women’s team to win a Test at the ‘Home of Cricket’, another landmark in the history of the game.
India dominated almost every session in the four-day game, with captain Harmanpreet Kaur maintaining her record as a Test skipper and several players etched their names into Lord's folklore with some of the most memorable performances.
India Recover After Early Blow
England chose to bowl first after winning the toss on a surface that was expected to be good for seamers. The hosts struck early, but India’s experienced middle order ensured the innings never slipped away.
Smriti Mandhana once again proved why she is one of India’s best batters and made a half-century. She also had a good innings that turned India around from early slumps and set this team up for a good total. Harmanpreet Kaur played a captain’s innings and Deepti Sharma got some crucial runs lower down the order as India scored 285 in their first innings.
Kranti Gaud Creates Lord’s History
India's bowlers took complete control over England's first innings.
Kranti Gaud produced the best performance of her career and took a sensational five-wicket haul. She was the first woman to ever get on the Lord's Test honours board as a bowler and instantly she joined some of the best names of cricket's brightest.
In the presence of Sneh Rana and Deepti Sharma, India bundled England out for 170 and held a big first innings lead of 115 runs.
Yastika Bhatia's Fairytale Century
A day that goes down in the 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 📚#TeamIndia WIN the first-ever women's Test match at Lord's 🥳
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 13, 2026
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/O1rEau8j8n #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/4mhcx8kKej
If Kranti played with the ball, Yastika Bhatia stole the bat.
The wicketkeeper-batter played the innings of her life when she came back from a long injury layoff after ACL surgery and scored the best innings of her life. Bhatia scored 113 off 158 balls and became the first Indian woman (and, in fact, the first woman overall) to score a Test century at Lord's. That kind of innings and that kind of exquisite strokeplay and patience were such an amazing performance, one of the greatest comeback stories of Indian women's cricket.
Mandhana again provided excellent support with another fluent contribution and Richa Ghosh's unbeaten late flourish accelerated India’s scoring.
India eventually declared their second innings at 341/7, setting England a daunting 457-run target.
Bowlers Finish the Job
England's chase never really gained momentum.
India's disciplined attack kept the pressure on throughout. Kranti Gaud, Sneh Rana, and Deepti Sharma shared the wickets as England collapsed to 130/6 by the end of Day Three.
On the final morning, Rana removed the well-set Amy Jones before Deepti cleaned up the lower order, dismissing Issy Wong and Lauren Bell to complete a famous 280-run victory.
A Landmark Victory
The victory has much more importance than the result.
This was:
The first women's Test played at Lord's, 50 years after England women first came to the venue. India's first women's Test victory at Lord's. Yastika Bhatia becomes the first woman to score a Test century at Lord's. Kranti Gaud is the first woman to appear on Lord's bowling honours board. Another unbeaten Test as captain for Harmanpreet Kaur, who is still one of the best leaders.
For Indian women's cricket, it has to be a big win, more than one Test win. It shows how tough and strong the team is as well as that it can perform in the international arena against one of the best sides. From Yastika’s comeback to Kranti’s record-breaking bowling and Mandhana’s consistency, India produced a team performance that will go down in history as one of the best in the history of the women’s cricket team in India.
