India women's cricket team recorded their biggest ever Test victory as they defeated England by 347 runs in the one-off match in Mumbai. The hosts dominated the game from start to finish, with their spinners and seamers exploiting the challenging conditions to bowl out England for 136 and 131.
England captain Heather Knight said her side were "outplayed" by India and admitted they had a lot to learn from the "super extreme" conditions. She said she was "philosophical" about the result and praised India's performance.
India's all-round excellence
India, who had not played a home Test since 2014, showed their adaptability and skill in both batting and bowling. They posted a mammoth 428 in their first innings, with four players scoring half-centuries. Opener Smriti Mandhana top-scored with 86, while captain Harmanpreet Kaur made 80.
England's only bright spot in the first innings was seamer Lauren Bell, who took 3-67 on her Test debut. Spinner Charlie Dean also impressed with 2-78.
In reply, England were bundled out for 136, with only Natalie Sciver-Brunt reaching fifty. She made 59 before being dismissed by off-spinner Deepti Sharma, who took 5-40 in the innings. Sharma was the star of the show for India, as she also took 4-66 in the second innings to finish with nine wickets in the match.
India enforced the follow-on and did not let England off the hook. They reduced them to 31-5 on the third day, with seamer Pooja Vastrakar taking 3-23 in a fiery spell. England showed some resistance on the final day, with Amy Jones making 41 and Sophie Ecclestone adding 35, but they were eventually bowled out for 131.
India's victory was their second largest in terms of runs in women's Test cricket, behind their 595-run win over South Africa in 2002. It was also their first Test win over England since 2014, when they won by six wickets at Wormsley.
England's spin woes
England, who had not played a Test match in India before, struggled to cope with the spin-friendly pitch and the quality of India's bowling. They lost 23 wickets to spin in the match, with Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Poonam Yadav sharing 18 of them.
England's batters looked tentative and unsure against the spinners, often playing back in their crease or across the line. They also failed to counter the seam movement and bounce of Vastrakar and Jhulan Goswami, who took five wickets between them.
Knight said her side were not exposed to such conditions in the main formats they play, which are white-ball cricket. She said they would have learned a lot from the Test match, but added that their focus was on the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2024, where they would face similar challenges.
She also praised India's batting, saying they showed how to get the right balance between attack and defence and put the pressure back on England's bowlers.
What next?
The Test match was part of a multi-format series between the two teams, which also includes three ODIs and three T20Is. The series is decided by a points system, with four points for a Test win, two for a draw, and two for a win in the limited-overs matches.
India have taken a 6-0 lead in the series, with the first ODI to be played on December 19 in Pune. England will have to regroup and bounce back quickly if they want to challenge India in the shorter formats.
