India pacer Kranti Gaud became the first woman to take a Test five-for at Lord's on day two against England, as the home side were bundled out for 170 in their first innings.
Kranti Gaud tears through England batting on day two of Lord's Test
Gaud, who is playing her second Test having been handed a red-ball debut against Australia at the WACA earlier this year, tore through England on day two of the Lord's Test.
Having tapped Tammy Beaumont, playing her final match for England, lbw on the evening of day one, she struck with her fourth ball of the morning to dismiss Maia Bouchier. Using her lethal wobble seam variation, she bowled a shorter ball angling into Bouchier, which she fended at into the off side, getting an outside edge to through to Yastika Bhatia.
With Heather Knight out in the next over and England on the brink of collapse, Gaud struck again in the first hour to remove Alice Capsey, bowling a peach which beat her outside edge and knocked over the off stump.
After a recovery partnership between Nat Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones gave England hope of stabalising, they were once again plunged into difficulty when Sneh Rana removed Jones. After lunch, Gaud gor her fourth, the crucial wicket of England captain Sciver-Brunt, beating her inside edge and trapping her dead in-line with the stumps.
England were eight down before Gaud got her fifth, Shafali Verma taking a rebounded catch off Rana to see the back of Lauren Bell, which took her to a historic first.
The Test between England and India is the first women's Test being played at Lord's, and none of England's bowlers took five wickets in India's first innings. Gaud's haul of 5-35 sees her become the first woman to take a Test five-for at Lord's, with her name set to be etched into the famous honours board in the pavilion.
Gaud is also the first woman to take a five-for for India in any format at Lord's. Renuka Singh Thakur and Archana Das both have four-wicket ODI hauls at Lord's, taken in 2022 and 2012 respectively, but Gaud will be the first woman to represent India on the honours board.
England were bowled out for 170 in their first innings, conceding a deficit of 115 to India.
Also read: For progress to be real, Lord's' first women's Test must not be its last
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