Lord’s Test: God wrote the script for us, Harmanpreet says after historic win

It was at the very historic venue of Lord’s that the India women’s team has fluffed its lines on big occasions — be it losing the 2017 ODI World Cup final to England by nine runs or barely two weeks ago, going down to Australia and missing a berth in the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup.

On Monday, 13 July, however, Harmanpreet Kaur & Co. kept their date with history as they won the first-ever women’s Test match at the so called home of cricket, trouncing hosts England by 270 runs.

A victory which could be placed at par with all the high points in the journey of women’s cricket in India over four decades — the pinnacle coming in November 2025 when the team ended a major ICC trophy jinx with the ODI World Cup win in Navi Mumbai.

Monday's win helped India extend its unbeaten run in Test matches in England — having now won three and drawn seven of their 10 Tests. It was also the women’s team’s fourth victory in the last five Tests.

It took the visitors less than four overs on Monday morning to secure the final breakthrough, capping four days of absolute superiority over the hosts. As Harmanpreet’s side celebrated the win, International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah and Sachin Tendulkar were also on hand in the stands.

Tendulkar later walked on to the ground to congratulate the victorious side as it made its way back to the pavilion after Sneh Rana claimed the final wicket to finish with a haul of four for 42.

For captain Harmanpreet and her deputy Smriti Mandhana — the only relics of the Wormsley win in 2014 — who have been central figures in the upward journey of Indian women’s cricket, Lord’s became another landmark in careers filled with milestones. "I don't think so [I could have scripted a better win]. God is a better writer and He has written it pretty well. Our openers have been our strength — the way they batted in the first half, it was special to watch," an emotional captain said at the presentation ceremony.

For the younger players, it became a memory they will carry forever. The one-sided win was the culmination of team effort — where Yastika Bhatia and seamer Kranti Goud may have put their names on the Lord's honours board with a century and five wickets, respectively, but the fifties from Harmanpreet, Smriti (in both innings), Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh helped the visitors wrest control of the game.

Brief scores: India 285 and 341/7 declared beat England 170 and 186 all out in 62.5 overs (Amy Jones 54, Sophie Ecclestone 50; Sneh Rana 4/42) by 270 runs.