England outplayed by India in crushing Test defeatFigure caption, Sneh Rana completes historic Test victory for IndiaByFfion WynneBBC Sport journalist at Lord’sPublished57 minutes agoEngland v India, one-off Test, Lord’s India 285 (Mandhana 83; Ecclestone 3-68) & 341-7 dec (Bhatia 113; Ecclestone 5-118)England 170 (Jones 52; Gaud 5-37) & 186 (Jones 54; Rana 4-42)India won by 270 runsScorecard
England suffered a 270-run thrashing in the one-off women’s Test at Lord’s as India sealed the emphatic victory before lunch on the final day.
Though defeat was inevitable as England started the day 130-6 and needing another 328 for victory, any hopes of prolonged resistance were ended when overnight batter Amy Jones was caught at mid-wicket for 54.
With the pitch turning, India had fielders crowded around the bat as their spinners then mopped up the tail with England skittled for 186.
It is England’s second-heaviest defeat in terms of runs in Test cricket after their 347-run loss against the same opposition away from home in 2023.
Both Issy Wong and Lauren Bell were bowled by Deepti Sharma to leave England on the brink at nine down, but Sophie Ecclestone held firm for her first international half-century.
Ecclestone reached the milestone from 61 balls to follow her five-wicket haul on day three, before she was bowled by a beauty from Sneh Rana for 50 to spark jubilant India celebrations.
Off-spinner Rana was the pick of India’s bowlers with 4-42.
England were outclassed, offering little conviction or discipline with the bat – across both innings they averaged just four when the ball was bowled on the stumps – and with the ball failed to adapt to the conditions and the Lord’s slope.
It was a disappointing ending to the fine careers of former captain Heather Knight and batter Tammy Beaumont, having fallen cheaply in England’s innings the previous day.
England’s attention now turns to The Hundred, which starts on 21 July, before they play Ireland in a white-ball series in September where their transition begins without Knight and Beaumont.
