Harmanpreet Kaur’s Team India on Saturday scripted history by defeating England by 374 runs in the only Test match of the tour. The hosts showcased an all-round performance to demolish England on the third day of the 4-day game. The batters set the tone with a massive first innings total and then, the bowlers exhibited a clinical performance against a strong team like England.
The 374-run victory is now the biggest win registered by any team in the Women’s Test. Harmanpreet & Co edged past the 25-year-old record set by Sri Lanka – a 309-run win against Pakistan Women in Colombo in 1998. In fact, it’s the biggest win for a women’s cricket team in this millennium.
Largest victory margins in Women’s Tests (by runs)
Meanwhile, Deepti Sharma bagged the Player of the Match award for his exemplary performance with the bat and the ball. The ace all-rounder set the record for the fewest overs bowled (5.3) to pick a 5-for in women’s Test cricket. She also became just the second Indian woman to score a fifty and pick a five-for in the same Test, after Shubhangi Kulkarni achieved the feat against New Zealand in 1985.
Deepti, who returned figures of 9 for 39 and scored 87 runs, said she just hit the right areas as their wicket was aiding the spinners.
“Feeling very good, was waiting for this day and feeling very proud as we executed our plans. Happy with the results. I tried to keep calm. We focussed on building partnerships, pleased we could execute it. I was getting a lot of help from the wicket, so tried to bowl in the right areas. Harmanpreet was advising me to bowl in the right areas. Will try to keep doing the same things in the future,” she said at the post-match presentation.
It was also India’s first win over England at home in 15 Tests, having beaten them in away games twice in 2014, giving them a big boost ahead of the one-off Test against Australia starting next week.
“Feeling great. We were thinking about how to win the game at the start of the match. Everything went according to plan. It was a plan, we had to execute those plans. We had a couple of days to prepare before the start of this game. All the players took the responsibility and delivered their best. The first 40 minutes were crucial, as a team we were looking to pick wickets. I know I will get opportunities to score centuries in the future, but winning the game was important. They knew their plans and they executed them accordingly,” Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said.
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