In the historic Lord’s Test, India’s score is 285, England’s score is 21/1 (PTI Photo)

India and England shared the honors on an entertaining opening day of the historic first women’s Test at Lord’s, with the visitors scoring 285 before restricting England to 21/1 at stumps on Friday.England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and decided to bowl first, after which India looked in a good position towards a big score thanks to brilliant half-centuries from Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur and Deepti Sharma. However, a late collapse ensured England regained control before the end of the game.The hosts then battled on for 11 overs in low light, but lost the wicket of opener Tammy Beaumont cheaply, leaving the match balanced for the second day.

Mandhana created the atmosphere

India had a bad start after losing the wickets of Shafali Verma and Yastika Bhatia early, but Smriti Mandhana once again showed her class by scoring 83 runs in 108 balls. The left-handed batsman was positive from the start, driving brilliantly through the covers and punishing any overpitched ball. He made important partnerships and hit 11 fours and one six, which helped India recover from the initial setbacks.Jemimah Rodrigues looked comfortable during her brief stay, adding a valuable stand with Mandhana before ruining a promising start.

Harmanpreet and Deepti saved India

After this, captain Harmanpreet Kaur along with Mandhana took the inning forward by making an important partnership of 89 runs. While Mandhana played the attacking role, Harmanpreet led the innings with 58 off 121 balls, ensuring India remained in a commanding position during the afternoon session.At 190/3, India looked set to cross the 350-run mark. But the momentum changed dramatically with Mandhana’s dismissal.England’s spinners, led by Sophie Ecclestone, took advantage of the old ball brilliantly. Ecclestone took advantage of sharp turn and bounce to finish with 3/68, while debutant Mady Villiers made an immediate impact as India slipped from a position of strength.Despite the continuous fall of wickets, Deepti Sharma played a composed innings under pressure. The experienced all-rounder played a crucial inning of 57 runs off 87 balls with the help of seven fours, taking India to a competitive 285 before becoming the last batsman to fall in the 75th over.

England lost early wickets

England had only 11 overs to negotiate before stumps and suffered an early blow when Kranthi Goud dismissed Tammy Beaumont for just two runs. Maia Boucher looked assured during her unbeaten 17, while captain Heather Knight remained unbeaten on one run as England ended the day at 21/1 with India trailing by 264 runs.

Brief Score:

India: All out for 285 runs in 74.5 overs (Smriti Mandhana 83, Harmanpreet Kaur 58, Deepti Sharma 57; Sophie Ecclestone 3/68, Issie Wong 2/41)England: 21/1 in 11 overs (Maya Boucher 17*, Heather Knight 1*; Kranti Gaur 1/8)