By Vipul Kashyap
London [UK], July 13 (ANI): Former India Women’s cricketer Reema Malhotra hailed the Harmanpreet Kaur-led side’s historic Test victory over England at Lord’s on Monday, drawing a parallel between their victory and Sourav Ganguly’s iconic balcony celebration in 2002, saying July 13 has become a memorable date in Indian cricket history.
India Women created history with a dominant 270-run victory over England in the first-ever Women’s Test at Lord’s, maintaining their unbeaten record in Women’s Tests on English soil and improving their record to seven wins, three draws and one defeat in their last 11 Tests.
Yastika Bhatia starred with a landmark century–the first by a woman at Lord’s–while Smriti Mandhana, Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh and Deepti Sharma made vital contributions with the bat.
Debutant Kranti Gaud claimed a five-wicket haul in the first innings, and Deepti picked up four wickets in the second as England, chasing 457, were bowled out for 186, bringing a disappointing end to the international careers of Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont.
Speaking with ANI, Reema Malhotra highlighted July 13 as a historic day for Indian cricket, drawing parallels between Sourav Ganguly’s iconic Lord’s balcony celebration in 2002 on the same day and India Women’s landmark Test victory at the same venue in 2026. She said the win would boost the team’s confidence across formats and urged fans to support the players with patience.
Ganguly’s iconic Lord’s balcony celebration came after India chased down England’s target in the NatWest Series final. He famously waved his shirt from the Lord’s balcony in response to Andrew Flintoff’s earlier celebration at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, creating one of the most memorable moments in Indian cricket history.
“I’ll tell you two things in this. One is that 13th July is a very special day for Indian cricket. On 13th July 2002, Sourav Ganguly celebrated on the balcony of Lord’s when they defeated England. This team never looked back after that. The heights that Sourav Ganguly started, the men’s circuit took off from there. And on July 13, 2026, our girls have also created history,” she said.
“I’m sure they will also celebrate on that famous, iconic balcony, and from here they won’t look back. Look, in two formats, I think skill-wise we have always proved to be better, ODI and Test match. Now we can say, ‘hence proved’. Now, a little bit of faith from the fans too, that please love cricket, don’t worship cricket. My message for the fans is that, because of this, when this team was losing, even then I was saying in T20, give some time to this team. This team will do better because we are not that strongly built. Because if you win a Test match now, confidence is high. And cricket is all about confidence, and this same confidence will help them in other formats too, which will be T20,” Malhotra said.
Malhotra praised India Women’s all-round performance against England, saying the team dominated in all three departments throughout the Test. She credited the perfect combination of players and highlighted the backing given to Yastika Bhatia, whose century proved crucial in helping India set up the victory. She emphasised that the historic win was the result of a complete team effort rather than any individual performance.
“Look, this team has given a clinical performance. Because if you have to make one or two sessions your own, then the performance comes out in one or two departments. But when you dominate the opposing team in all three departments in every session, then you win a Test match,” she said.
“Combination-wise, I think this was the perfect combination. And the biggest addition was the way they backed Yastika Bhatia. She is technically sound, her temperament is good, and that’s what made the difference in the end between winning and losing. I won’t say losing, but between winning and a draw. Because if Yastika’s 100 hadn’t come, maybe there wouldn’t have been that many runs on the board, so the Indian bowlers bowled freely. But again, it wouldn’t be right to take the name of any one player; I’ll say it was an entire team performance,” she added.
Malhotra said the team has a winning mentality and has fulfilled the dreams of many. She recalled being part of India’s 2006 Test win over England and said the triumph at Lord’s carried special significance, with the achievement bringing double the happiness.
“Look, when someone fulfils your dreams, how does it feel? Exactly, that’s my feeling. Because this team is different. I’ve been saying since day one that they know how to win. First, they gave us the ODI World Cup, and now winning the first Test match at Lord’s, defeating England in England, is not easy. In 2006, we played a Test match in Taunton. I was also part of that team. The feeling I had then, after defeating them, I have that same feeling today. But again, I’ll say, if you achieve something at Lord’s, the happiness is doubled. So, I have that happiness today,” she said.
Malhotra lauded Kranti Gaud’s five-wicket haul, calling her the “Kranti Express” and praised her ability to excel across formats. She highlighted Gaud’s swing bowling, long spells, fitness and crucial top-order breakthroughs, saying having such a versatile bowler gives the captain a valuable option in Test cricket.
“Look, I have given her the name ‘Kranti Express’. Right now, she is India’s fastest bowler. If we don’t back her, then whom will we back? But the way she showed her thinking in red-ball cricket, that she is not just a white-ball player but an all-format player, keeping the ball up, using the swing, and bowling long spells. It felt good to see her fitness. She was also energetic on the field. But the way she took top-order wickets, especially Nat Sciver-Brunt and Capsey, means you are a bowler who can bowl in any phase. And when you have such a bowler in the Test circuit, then the captain has a privilege there,” she said.
India Women’s Lord’s victory comes on the heels of a disappointing T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in England, where they faced a group-stage exit. However, Malhotra said their Lord’s victory showed the team’s ability to bounce back after setbacks. She credited captain Harmanpreet Kaur and coach Amol Muzumdar for their strong partnership, effective decision-making and belief in the team.
“Look, when you start criticising after one loss, now these girls have answered with their game that you might lose one day, but the next day will also come. How you fight there, and there I want to give credit to Harmanpreet Kaur, and along with her, Amol Muzumdar too. Because these two are like the two wheels of a bicycle, coach and captain. And if they are not synchronised, problems arise. And there, both the coach and captain had faith in themselves, had faith in their team, and the captaincy was good. Because it’s not that easy to know when to bring in a pacer, when to bring in a spinner, and among spinners, too, when to bring Sneh Rana, when to bring Deepti, how you have to adjust Shree Charani in between because she didn’t have that good a Test match with the ball. So overall, it was proactive captaincy,” she said.
“But at the same time, Harmanpreet Kaur, the batter, was seen. I felt good seeing that runs came from her bat, runs came from Smriti’s bat. Captaincy feels good only when the player themselves are performing. That’s why this captaincy shone out even more,” she added.
India declared their second innings at 341/7. Smriti Mandhana scored 70, and Richa Ghosh remained unbeaten on 50. In the first innings, Mandhana (83), Harmanpreet Kaur (58) and Deepti Sharma (57) helped India post 285 before debutant pacer Kranti Gaud’s five-wicket haul bundled England out for 170.
England’s chase faltered from the outset, with Tammy Beaumont dismissed for a golden duck and Heather Knight falling cheaply. Although Amy Jones and Sophie Ecclestone offered some resistance, the hosts were unable to challenge India’s commanding lead.
The victory was highlighted by Bhatia’s landmark century, Kranti Gaud’s maiden five-wicket haul and a dominant all-round performance, while England’s veterans Heather Knight and Tammy Beaumont bowed out disappointingly. (ANI)
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