One-off Test: India tighten grip as Mandhana, Shafali extend lead to 145

India strengthened their grip on the one-off women’s Test against England at Lord’s, reaching 30 without loss at tea on Day 2 to stretch their overall lead to 145 runs after Kranti Gaud’s maiden five-wicket haul dismantled the hosts for 170.

Resuming their second innings with a first-innings cushion of 115, India’s openers Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma safely negotiated a testing spell with the new ball before gradually shifting the momentum back in the visitors’ favour.

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England’s seamers came out with greater purpose than they had shown in the first innings. Lauren Bell found movement straightaway, bowling a probing maiden to Mandhana, while Lauren Filer generated extra bounce and seam movement to keep both batters watchful during the opening exchanges.

Despite the disciplined bowling, India remained composed. Mandhana was content to leave deliveries outside off-stump before punishing anything short, pulling Filer for consecutive boundaries to ease the pressure.

Shafali, after a measured start, also found her rhythm. She opened her boundary count with a crisp drive through the covers before taking on Sophie Ecclestone when the left-arm spinner entered the attack. The right-hander lofted Ecclestone straight down the ground before following it up with an elegant inside-out drive through extra cover, ensuring India maintained the scoring rate without taking undue risks.

England briefly created opportunities with disciplined lines, but the opening pair showed patience and sound judgement to deny the hosts an early breakthrough. The partnership carried India safely to the tea interval and further strengthened their control of the contest.

Earlier in the day, debutant pacer Kranti Gaud starred with figures of 5 for 37 as England were bowled out for 170, handing India a valuable first-innings lead of 115 runs.

With both openers well set and the pitch still offering good batting conditions, India will look to build a substantial fourth-innings target and tighten their grip on the match in the final session.

Brief scores: India 285 & 30/0 (Smriti Mandhana 10*, Shafali Verma 14*) lead England 170 (Amy Jones 52, Nat Sciver-Brunt 44; Kranti Gaud 5/37) by 145 runs.