Lord’s Test: India dominates England as Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont depart cheaply

By Rohan Gupta — 12 July 2026 — 3 min read

India’s Dominance at Lord’s

England is facing a significant defeat in the one-off Women’s Test against India at Lord’s. After India declared their second innings at 341-7, setting England a target of 457 runs for victory, the hosts concluded the third day at 130-6, still requiring 327 runs to win. This commanding position for India was largely established by Yastika Bhatia’s performance.

Bhatia became the first female Test centurion at Lord’s, scoring a majestic 113. Her innings overshadowed her overnight batting partner, Smriti Mandhana. While England’s bowling showed some improvement in the morning session, with Lauren Bell removing Mandhana for 70 and Jemimah Rodrigues for three, any hopes of a comeback were diminished when Bell left the field due to abdominal soreness after lunch.

Bhatia capitalised on the struggles of England’s bowlers, including Lauren Filer and Issy Wong, to reach her first international hundred. Following Bhatia’s century, Richa Ghosh’s counter-attacking fifty further solidified India’s advantage, leading to Harmanpreet Kaur’s declaration before tea. Sophie Ecclestone finished with figures of 5-118, becoming the first Englishwoman to be on the Lord’s Test honours board, but this was a rare positive on a challenging day for England.

Farewell for Knight and Beaumont

The match marked the final innings for two prominent England batters, Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight. Both players had been central to the transition of women’s cricket from amateur to professional status. Beaumont’s final appearance saw her bowled for a golden duck, receiving a standing ovation as she walked to the crease after spending hours in the field.

Kranti Gaud delivered the ball that dismissed Beaumont, taking her off stump. This led to an unusual guard of honour for a golden duck, which was considered well-deserved. Knight, who is retiring from international cricket at the conclusion of this Test, fell for 13 runs. Her career spans 320 caps, 8,017 international runs, and six centuries across various formats. She led England in 199 matches between 2016 and 2025, including captaining the side to the 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title.

England’s captain, Nat Sciver-Brunt, was also dismissed cheaply for 11. The team found themselves at 59-5 before Mady Villiers and Amy Jones formed a resilient sixth-wicket partnership of 67 runs. Villiers’ resistance ended with a catch by Richa Ghosh in the final minutes of the day, leaving Jones unbeaten on 52. Knight’s dismissal to Gaud, who has taken seven wickets in the match, prompted a second guard of honour, highlighting the impending change for England cricket without these two stalwarts.

India’s Bowling and England’s Challenges

India’s bowlers, despite not being as consistently accurate as in the first innings, were effective by bowling straight, a tactic that England struggled to counter throughout the match. When Alice Capsey was bowled, leaving England at 59-5, India had bowled only 29 balls in 19.3 overs that would have hit the stumps, with five of those resulting in wickets.

England’s difficulties in adapting to the conditions were evident, particularly after Sciver-Brunt’s decision to bowl first. While Bell secured a couple of wickets, there are concerns about the lack of support from the rest of the seam attack. The struggles of Wong and Filer, who were not part of the World Cup squad, raise questions about England’s fast bowling depth.

Bhatia navigated her way through the nineties with ease, capitalising on wide deliveries from Wong, needing just six balls to move from 91 to three figures. Even after Bhatia was caught slogging off Ecclestone, Ghosh’s aggressive batting continued, further extending India’s lead. Harmanpreet eventually signalled the declaration after Ghosh reached a 52-ball fifty, concluding a dominant batting display by India.

Heather Knight’s career includes a Test best of 168 not out against Australia in 2022, where she anchored a 100-run ninth-wicket stand with Sophie Ecclestone.

Source: bbc.com