England spinner Sophie Ecclestone produced another outstanding performance with the ball, claiming a five-wicket haul during the one-off Women’s Test against India at Lord’s. Despite her impressive effort, India remained firmly in control with a lead of more than 400 runs by the end of the third day’s play.
The historic Test, the first-ever women’s red-ball match at Lord’s, has witnessed several memorable individual performances. After India posted 285 in their first innings, led by Smriti Mandhana’s 83 and Harmanpreet Kaur’s 58, England struggled in reply as India’s pace bowler Kranti Gaud registered a remarkable five-wicket haul of 5/37 to earn a place on the prestigious Lord’s Honours Board.
Ecclestone has been England’s standout performer throughout the match, consistently troubling the Indian batters with her disciplined and accurate left-arm spin.
Her biggest impact came in India’s second innings, where she dismissed centurion Yastika Bhatia shortly after the batter reached a brilliant hundred. Ecclestone then removed Deepti Sharma before cleaning up Sneh Rana to complete her five-wicket haul.
The England spinner finished with impressive figures of 5/111 from 31 overs, providing the hosts with their only significant breakthrough as India continued to extend their advantage.
Although India remain overwhelming favourites to secure victory, Ecclestone’s determined spell prevented the visitors from completely running away with the contest and ensured England stayed in the fight for as long as possible.
The five-wicket haul also strengthened Ecclestone’s place among the most successful bowlers in Women’s Test cricket. She now has four five-wicket hauls, moving alongside Australian legend Betty Wilson and New Zealand’s Jackie Lord on the all-time list. Only England’s Mary Duggan and India’s Shubhangi Kulkarni, with five fifers each, remain ahead of her.
With India holding a commanding lead heading into the final stages of the match, England will require a remarkable turnaround to avoid defeat, while Ecclestone’s outstanding bowling remains one of the standout performances of the historic Test.