India tightened their grip on the one-off women’s Test at Lord’s with a dominant all-round display on Day 2, riding Kranti Gaud’s maiden five-wicket haul and an unbeaten half-century from Smriti Mandhana to finish at 154/1 in their second innings, stretching their overall lead to 269 runs with two full days still to play.

Stumps on Day 2!

A fruitful day for #TeamIndia as they lead England by 2⃣6⃣9⃣ runs

Vice-captain Smriti Mandhana and Yastika Bhatia will resume proceedings tomorrow

Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/O1rEau8j8n #ENGvIND pic.twitter.com/Txfy9PqObG

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— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) July 11, 2026

India wrap up England innings

The visitors began the day sensing an opportunity, with England resuming on 113/5, still 148 runs adrift. That opening soon turned into complete control as India’s bowlers wrapped up the innings for 170 inside the first hour after lunch.

England briefly resisted through captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones, who added valuable runs after the overnight collapse. Jones looked positive, while Sciver-Brunt held one end together with a composed 44. However, India struck at crucial intervals to deny the hosts any sustained recovery.

Kranti Gaud once again led the charge. The young seamer produced the breakthrough India desperately wanted by trapping Sciver-Brunt lbw with a delivery that jagged back sharply, ending England’s biggest hope of cutting into the deficit. Sayali Satghare then removed Sophie Ecclestone before Sneh Rana accounted for debutant Mady Villiers, exposing the tail.

Gaud returned to complete a memorable five-wicket haul—her maiden Test five-for and the second five-wicket haul of her Test career—by dismissing Lauren Bell, while Deepti Sharma wrapped up the innings as England folded for 170, conceding a substantial 115-run first-innings lead. It was England’s third-lowest first-innings total against India at home and the first five-wicket haul by a pace bowler in a women’s Test in England since Ellyse Perry’s 6/32 at Canterbury in 2015.

Openers extend India’s advantage

Armed with a sizeable cushion, India’s openers ensured England never found a route back into the contest.

Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer began with disciplined spells, extracting movement under overcast conditions, but Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma weathered the early examination before gradually shifting gears. Shafali was the aggressor, driving Bell elegantly through the off side before taking on Sophie Ecclestone with successive boundaries, while Mandhana punished anything short with authoritative pulls.

The pair added 88 runs for the opening wicket, extending their remarkable record together. It was their seventh 50-plus partnership in Tests, the most by any pair in the history of women’s Test cricket.

England’s only breakthrough came when Ecclestone tempted Shafali into an ambitious lofted stroke, the opener miscuing to mid-on for a brisk 33. Although England finally separated the openers, the wicket did little to alter the momentum.

Mandhana anchors dominant finish

Yastika Bhatia joined Mandhana, and the duo calmly steered India through the final session. Mandhana, who had scored a half-century in the first innings, brought up another composed fifty with a controlled single off Mady Villiers, becoming only the fourth Indian woman to register two fifty-plus scores in the same Test. The milestone also took her to seven Test half-centuries, drawing level with Shantha Rangaswamy and second only to Sandhya Agarwal among Indian women.

While Mandhana mixed caution with elegant strokeplay, driving Ecclestone down the ground for four and later launching the left-arm spinner for a straight six, Bhatia settled in confidently at the other end. The left-hander used her feet effectively against the spinners, collecting boundaries through extra cover and straight down the ground while frustrating England’s attempts to create opportunities.

England rotated Bell, Filer, Issy Wong, Ecclestone, and Villiers in search of inspiration, but inconsistent lines, a few missed chances, and disciplined Indian batting ensured the visitors stayed firmly on top. Mandhana remained unbeaten on 69, while Bhatia was equally assured on 39 not out, with the pair carrying their unbroken stand past fifty before stumps.

By the close, India had reached 154/1, extending their overall lead to 269 runs with nine wickets still in hand. Having dominated with the ball in the morning and controlled proceedings with the bat thereafter, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side now holds all the aces heading into Day 3, while England face the daunting task of forcing their way back into a contest that is rapidly slipping beyond their reach.

Brief scores:

India 285/10 and 154/1 in 42 overs (Smriti Mandhana 69*, Yastika Bhatia 39*, Shafali Verma 33; Sophie Ecclestone 1-46) lead England 170 all out in 59.1 overs (Amy Jones 52, Nat Sciver-Brunt 44; Kranti Gaud 5-37, Sayali Satghare 2-40, Sneh Rana 2-41, Deepti Sharma 1-10) by 269 runs.

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England fans can stay in the pub - either celebrating or commiserating with each other - until 30 minutes after the final whistle is blown in the World Cup quarter-final against Norway, the government has said.

Extended licensing hours will allow supporters in England and Wales to watch the entire game, even if the start is delayed because of extreme heat. An earlier extension had allowed venues to stay open until 02:00 BST.

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The Three Lions are due to kick off at 22:00 (18:00 local time) at the Hard Rock Stadium, in Miami, Florida.

It comes after England's match against Mexico on 2 July, held at the host country's Azteca Stadium, began an hour later than scheduled because of storms.

"England fans deserve the chance to watch every minute of the quarter-final together, and that is exactly what our extension guarantees," said Policing Minister Sarah Jones.

"After the weather delay we saw before the Mexico game, we want to give fans and venues complete certainty that no-one will miss a moment of the action."

There was confusion ahead of the Mexico game after Fifa went back on a plan to bring the game forward because of bad weather. It was eventually delayed by an hour, after heavy rain in Mexico City and reports of lightning above the stadium.

Jones said she hoped pubs and bars would be "packed" for the game, as England "hopefully move one step closer to bringing football home".

In a statement on Saturday, the Home Office said the extended hours would apply to any further England matches, including potentially the final, ensuring that venues can stay open 30 minutes after the final whistle.

The blanket extension means individual venues do not need to apply for extended hours.

Licensing hours had already been extended for the World Cup, from 23:00 to 01:00 for games with kick-offs from 17:00 up to 21:00, and until 02:00 for kick-offs between 21:00 and 22:00.

The home secretary has the legislative power to extend licensing hours on occasions of "exceptional international, national or local significance".

'Tough for players and spectators alike'

The threat of high temperatures has been a feature of the World Cup, being co-hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States.

Fifa also introduced mandatory hydration breaks midway through each half to help players tackle the heat and humidity.

BBC lead weather presenter Matt Taylor said: "It's going to be a tough day for players and spectators alike in Miami, as heat and humidity levels soar."

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory for the city from 11:00 to 19:00 local time.

"Daytime temperatures will peak at a scorching 33C (91.4F), but the impact of high humidity levels means that it will feel much more like it is 43C out there," said Taylor.

At kick-off time, the risk of storms in the area stands at about 20-30%, Taylor added. Any lightning reported within eight miles of the stadium would mean an automatic 30-minute delay.

Global sporting bodies such as Fifa use an index called Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), taking into account temperature, humidity, time and amount of sunshine, to decide if it is safe to play.

In its guidelines for playing in heat, external players' union Fifpro says a WBGT above 28C should lead to the "delay or postponement of matches" until conditions are safer.

Currently, the wet bulb temperature forecast for Miami falls at 27C. There is no suggestion the game will not take place.

• World Cup 2026: Will England join Spain and France in semi-finals?
• Pubs allowed to stay open until 5am on Monday for England Mexico match
• Wider licence extensions for pubs during World Cup

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