Indian women knock out England in Wormsley Test

Captain Mithali Raj steers the Indian women's cricket team to a six-wicket win over England at picturesque Sir Paul Getty Ground at Wormsley in their first Test since 2006

Wormsley (United Kingdom): The Indian men’s cricket team has disappointed with their spineless performance in the last three weeks but the women counterparts showed steely temperament as they made a remarkable comeback into Test fold, beating England eves by six wickets here on Saturday.

Indian women celebrate their victory over England at Wormsley Cricket Ground in Wycombe on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images.

Skipper Mithali Raj led from the front with a gutsy unbeaten 50 as Indian eves surpassed a competitive target of 181 runs with consummate ease. The fifth wicket pair of Mithali and Shikha Pandey (28 not out) added 68 runs to ensure a smooth sailing on the final day.

Smriti Mandhana en route her 51 in the second innings

After eight years...
This is the first Test that the eves played after a eight-year hiatus with eight players in the starting XI making their Test debut. The women’s team also won back-to-back Test series, having won the one-off ‘Test’ at Taunton in 2006, which incidentally was also the last time that the likes of Mithali and Jhulan Goswami were seen in white flannels.

Cracker: India’s Mithali Raj hits a boundary en route to victory over England on the final day of the one-off Test at Wormsley on Saturday. Mithali stayed unbeaten on 50 Pics/Getty Images

The Indian women’s team celebrate their Test win over England on Saturday

Starting the day at 119-4, Indians required only 62 runs more on the final day after opener Smriti Mandhana’s impressive 51 with an opening partnership of 76 with Thirush Kamini (28), laid the foundation of a memorable victory.

For India, there have been some good performances in the Test match, starting with their new-ball bowler Niranjana Nagarajan, who scalped four wickets to help England out for 92 and then scored 27 in the first innings to give that slender yet important lead of 22 runs.

A view of the Wormsley Cricket Ground during the Test

Senior pacer Jhulan then played her part in the second innings with a four-wicket haul as India restricted the hosts to 202.

4: Number of Test victories registered by Indian women over the years

8: Number of Indian players who made their Test debut in this match

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