Ladies conquer Lord’s — and not a day too soon

A gender barrier that stood for nearly a century and a half was smashed, a clutch of records was rewritten and several firsts were achieved in the course of four days of Test match cricket at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London between July 10 and 13. From the very moment that the first ball was bowled, the one-off women’s Test between England and India was destined to be etched in history. The ladies were finally being granted their rightful place in the Lord’s sun. They grabbed the opportunity with striking poise and panache and a slew of performances worthy of the occasion.

It was the first-ever Test played between the women’s teams of two countries at the home of cricket. India made the event – it was the 153rd women’s Test – count with a thumping 270-run victory.

It was a clinical, and supremely confident performance made possible by an outstanding team effort. To make the event even more memorable, nearly 38,000 spectators watched the Test across the four days – no women’s Test match had ever drawn that big a crowd. The setting and the atmosphere were perfect. The spectators got their money’s worth.

Kranti Gaud.

How often does one get to watch history unfold before one’s eyes the way that it did here? To top it all, the cricket dished out by the two sides was of the highest calibre although it was India that held the upper hand in every department of the game. Former England captain Heather Knight, who announced she was hanging up her boots after the Lord’s Test, said: “It’s been really cool to play a Test match here, not the result we would’ve wanted but credit to India, they had the aspects of Test match cricket.”

She added: “I hope it’s not the last. It’s been a really important thing to tick off. Grateful for the people before who have made it possible.” The first Test match to be played at Lord’s was between England and Australia from July 21 to 23, 1884, with the hosts eking out a narrow five-run victory. That was all of 142 years ago.

The question that cannot but be asked: why did it take the world so long to let women play a Test match on the hallowed turf of a ground whose evolution has been inextricably intertwined with the progress of the game itself?

India’s Lord’s triumph came on the back of several stellar performances, not the least of which were registered by medium-pacer Kranti Gaud and wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia. The resounding win extended India’s undefeated streak in women’s Tests played in England. India and England have played 15 women’s Tests in all, with India holding an edge, winning 3 to England’s solitary victory. England has never beaten India at home.

Smriti Mandhana.

On their way to scripting this glorious new chapter in the 50th year of India becoming a women’s Test-playing nation – the first Test that the nation played was in 1976 – Gaud, 23, and Bhatia, 25, became the first women ever to have their names inscribed on the Lord’s Honours Board. During England’s riposte to India’s first innings total of 285, Gaud helped her team wrest a 115-run lead with a remarkable bowling performance – five for 37. With her immaculate line, length and movement, the girl born in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, playing only her second Test, bundled out England for 170.

And when India came out to bat again, Vadodara-born Bhatia, playing her fourth Test, grabbed the limelight. She took a heavy toll on the English bowlers with a classy century (113) that instantly catapulted her into the record books – and on to the Lord’s Honours Board. On the fourth and final day, Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was in the stands to witness the Indian women romp home and make history. The Indian women’s team did everything right with bat and ball, with almost every member of the squad chipping in.

In the Test arena, Indian women have had a long and eventful journey that has seen its share of ups and downs. Over the decades, the team has been steered with great heart, spirit and acumen through the rough and the smooth by many pioneers who paved the way for the future stars.

Deepti Sharma.

The likes of Sandhya Agarwal, Shantha Rangaswamy, Diana Eduljee, Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, all legends in their own right, showed the way. Today, opening batter Smriti Mandhana, who scored two big fifties in the one-off Lord’s Test (83 and 70), captain Harmanpreet Kaur, allrounder Deepti Sharma and wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh (all of whom scored a fifty each in the Test) are carrying the torch forward with aplomb. The Lord’s Test victory has done its bit to dispel the disappointment of India not making it to the semi-finals of the recent ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. The reigning Women’s ICC ODI World Cup champions – and their fans – now have reason to look ahead with a sense of optimism in all three formats of cricket.