England vs India: Kranti Gaud and Smriti Mandhana dominate day two at Lord’s

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 ahead with 269 points

scorecard

With India taking control on the second day, England face an uphill battle to avoid defeat in the one-off Test at Lord’s.

India’s first innings ended with a score of 21-1 for 285, with England leading the tourists by 115 for 170.

On yet another hot day and improved batting conditions, India finished 154-1 with an ominous lead of 269 for England’s bowlers working too hard on flat ground and lacking the threat of taking wickets.

Smriti Mandhana hit another classy half-century and remained unbeaten on 69 after adding 88 for the first wicket with Shafali Verma, who fell to Sophie Ecclestone for 33.

Earlier, Kranti Gaud had made history by becoming the first woman to earn her place on the Lord’s Test honors board with a fine 5-37, at a time when she was struggling against England’s disciplined accuracy.

Gaud, who dismissed Tammy Beaumont the previous evening, continued to work at the top. Maia Bouchier was bowled out for 23 and Alice Capsey was bowled out with a pinch hit for nine before captain Nat Sciver-Brunt took the key wicket lbw for 44.

Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones provided England’s only real resistance with a fifth wicket of 84, but Jones’ departure for 52 led to a dismal collapse of the last six wickets for just 39 runs.

Despite a difficult day, the biggest positive for England was the world record attendance for a women’s Test match in a single day – crowds of 15,243 in Melbourne for the Women’s Ashes in 2025 surpassed the previous best of 11,918.

With two more days of better weather expected, India have the chance to keep a tired England going and put them out of the game on the third day.