England toil as India take control on day two
England v India, one-off Test, Lord's India 285 (Mandhana 83; Ecclestone 3-68) & 154-1 (Mandhana 69*; Ecclestone 1-46) England 170 (Jones 52; Gaud 5-37) India
England v India, one-off Test, Lord's India 285 (Mandhana 83; Ecclestone 3-68) & 154-1 (Mandhana 69*; Ecclestone 1-46) England 170 (Jones 52; Gaud 5-37) India lead by 269 Scorecard England face an uphill battle to avoid defeat in the one-off Test at Lord's as India took control on day two. Resuming on 21-1 in reply to India's first-innings 285, England were skittled for 170 to give the tourists a lead of 115. On another hot day and in improved batting conditions, India finished 154-1 - an ominous lead of 269 - as England's bowlers toiled and lacked wicket-taking threat on a flat surface.
Smriti Mandhana reached another classy half-century and remains unbeaten on 69 after adding 88 for the first wicket with Shafali Verma, who fell to Sophie Ecclestone for 33. Earlier, Kranti Gaud made history as the first woman to earn her place on the Lord's Test honours board with a fine spell of 5-37 as England struggled against her disciplined accuracy. Having removed Tammy Beaumont the previous evening, Gaud continued to work through the top order. Maia Bouchier was caught behind for 23 and Alice Capsey was bowled with a nip-backer for nine before she claimed the key wicket of captain Nat Sciver-Brunt lbw for 44.
Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones provided England's only real resistance with a fifth-wicket stand of 84, but Jones' departure for 52 sparked a dismal collapse of the last six wickets for just 39 runs. Despite a tough day, the biggest positive for England was the world record attendance for a single day at
a women's Test match - the crowd figure of 15,243 beating the previous best of 11,918 at Melbourne for the Women's Ashes in 2025. With two more days of good weather expected, India have the chance to keep a tired England toiling and bat them out of the game on day three.
The BriefWire