England vs India: Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont fall cheaply as hosts face huge defeat
England v India, one-off Test, Lord’s (third day of four)
India 285 (Mandhana 83; Ecclestone 3-68) & 341-7 dec (Bhatia 113; Ecclestone 5-118)
England 170 (Jones 52; Gaud 5-37) & 130-6 (Jones 52*; Satghare 2-19)
Behind England by 327 runs
scorecard
England are facing a heavy defeat heading into the fourth and final day of the one-off women’s test against India at Lord’s.
After India declared the score at 341-7, giving England a world record 457, the home team finished the match with a score of 130-6, needing 327 more to win.
There was no fairytale ending for retired Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight; the former was bowled out for a golden duck and Knight fell on 13 to leave England in disarray.
Skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt was also dismissed cheaply, winning for 11 and England slumped to 59-5 before Mady Villiers and Amy Jones fought back with a brave sixth wicket of 67.
Villiers’ resilience ended with Richa Ghosh’s sensational catch of a silly cross in the final 10 minutes of the day; Jones remained unbeaten on 52 and India came close to a crushing victory.
The visitors’ insurmountable lead was provided by Yastika Bhatia, who became the first female Test centurion at Lord’s when she made a majestic 113, surpassing her overnight batting partner Smriti Mandhana.
England’s bowling improved in the morning session with Lauren Bell hitting Mandhana for 70 and Jemimah Rodrigues bowling for three, but any hope of a miraculous comeback vanished after lunch when Bell walked off the field with an abdominal strain.
Bhatia feasted on the failure of Lauren Filer and Issy Wong to target the stumps to score her first international hundred before Ghosh’s counter-attacking fifty brought home the advantage for Harmanpreet Kaur to declare before tea.
Sophie Ecclestone finished with 5-118 to become the first England woman on the Lord’s Test honors board, but it was a rare cause for celebration on another difficult day of Indian dominance.
