Yastika Bhatia, Kranti Gaud inspire India to historic win over England | Cricket News
India wrote history with a 270-run victory over England on Day 4 of the inaugural Women’s Test at Lord’s on Monday, with Yastika Bhatia’s maiden century and Kranti Gaud’s seven in a dominant all-round performance at the iconic venue.India extended their dominance on Sunday through Bhatia, who scored a brilliant 113 to set the stage for the visitors’ second innings. The southpaw showed great footwork in the spinner game and elegant batting in the seamer game to become the first woman to score a Test century at Lord’s Tennis Academy.She was well supported by Smriti Mandhana, who smashed a flowing 70 before Richa Ghosh completed an unbeaten half-century, prompting India to declare 341 for 7 while England ended with a daunting target of 457.England’s bowlers got some reward through Sophie Ecclestone, who claimed a five-wicket victory, while Lauren Bell also impressed with a crucial breakthrough. However, targets always appear on surfaces outside the hosts, providing the seamers with increasing help.The Indian pacers were quick to make headway. Kranti Gaud, who took five wickets in the first innings, hit Tammy Beaumont on the first ball of England’s chase before Sayali Satghare made a sharp move to put the home team in trouble. Gaude went on to exploit the conditions brilliantly and Heather Knight was one of her victims as England’s top brass fought the campaign.Amy Jones put up a determined half-century and was supported by Maddie Villiers, but India never allowed England to forge a lasting partnership. Sharp catches close to the wicket, including a brilliant shot from Richa Ghosh, were matched by a disciplined bowling effort and the visitors ended the game firmly.The victory was a well-deserved victory for India, who took the initiative in the match by dismissing England for 170 in the first innings after scoring 285 runs of their own. Sneh Rana completed four overs, beating Sophie Ecclestone after a gritty half-century as India registered a historic win at Lord’s.Brief rating:Indian women 285 and 341/7 December (Smriti Mandhana 83 & 70, Yastika Bhatia 12 & 113, Harmanpreet Kaur 58 & 16, Deepti Sharma 57 & 10, Richa Ghosh 13 & 50*; Sophie Ecclestone 3/68 & 5/118, Lauren Bell 1/50 & 2/27)England Women 170 and 186 (Amy Jones 52 and 54, Nat Silver-Brent 44 and 11; Kranti Gaude 5/37 and 2/54, Snerana 4/42 and 3/41, Sayari Satgaray 2/40 and 2/24, Deepti Sharma 1/10 and 2/36)The Indian women’s team won by 270 runs.
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