England toil as India take control on day two

England v India, one-off Test, Lord's

India 285 (Mandhana 83; Ecclestone 3-68) & 154-1 (Mandhana 69*; Ecclestone 1-46)

England 170 (Jones 52; Gaud 5-37)

India lead by 269

Scorecard

England face an uphill battle to avoid defeat in the one-off Test at Lord's as India took control on day two.

Resuming on 21-1 in reply to India's first-innings 285, England were skittled for 170 to give the tourists a lead of 115.

On another hot day and in improved batting conditions, India finished 154-1 - an ominous lead of 269 - as England's bowlers toiled and lacked wicket-taking threat on a flat surface.

Smriti Mandhana reached another classy half-century and remains unbeaten on 69 after adding 88 for the first wicket with Shafali Verma, who fell to Sophie Ecclestone for 33.

Earlier, Kranti Gaud made history as the first woman to earn her place on the Lord's Test honours board with a fine spell of 5-37 as England struggled against her disciplined accuracy.

Having removed Tammy Beaumont the previous evening, Gaud continued to work through the top order. Maia Bouchier was caught behind for 23 and Alice Capsey was bowled with a nip-backer for nine before she claimed the key wicket of captain Nat Sciver-Brunt lbw for 44.

Sciver-Brunt and Amy Jones provided England's only real resistance with a fifth-wicket stand of 84, but Jones' departure for 52 sparked a dismal collapse of the last six wickets for just 39 runs.

Despite a tough day, the biggest positive for England was the world record attendance for a single day at a women's Test match - the crowd figure of 15,243 beating the previous best of 11,918 at Melbourne for the Women's Ashes in 2025.

With two more days of good weather expected, India have the chance to keep a tired England toiling and bat them out of the game on day three.

While there was some turn for England's spinners on the first day, the pitch appeared easier for batting after a day basked in the London heat which makes Sciver-Brunt's decision to bowl first more questionable.

Yet England could not capitalise as the exceptionally talented Gaud, at just 22 years old, and the rest of India's attack executed a simple gameplan of endlessly bowling a good line and length and the hosts were exposed.

Whether it was a combination of general fatigue post-T20 World Cup or that they are simply not used to batting for such long periods of time remains unclear, but arguably only Capsey could say she got a genuinely good ball that nipped between bat and pad.

Bouchier wafted unnecessarily outside the off stump, Heather Knight played around a straight one from Sayali Satghare for six and Jones suffered a lapse in concentration to prod spinner Sneh Rana to short leg.

When Sciver-Brunt was struck on the front pad, England's long tail had far too much to do, and there were heart-warming scenes when Lauren Bell was brilliantly dismissed by Shafali's rebound catch at slip for Gaud's fifth wicket.

A beaming Gaud raised the ball to an applauding Lord's pavilion as she led India off the field having put her side in a commanding position for victory.

England's bowlers did little wrong with the ball, as they plugged away for an hour before tea and throughout a difficult lengthy evening session.

It was a daunting task for them with minimal rest after the first innings, and having to contend with a big deficit that allowed India's top order to play with freedom and confidence knowing that they could still trust the surface.

Bell was particularly metronomic as she conceded just 16 from her 11 wicketless overs, while Issy Wong steamed in with her usual energy and passion.

Mandhana was open about her frustration after falling for 83 on day one and failing to kick on to a century, and she looked in the mood to settle in with the potential and fluency to bat for another day.

She took on Ecclestone effectively down the ground, with England's spinners unable to extract as much turn from the surface to put doubt in the batters' minds.

Alongside Shafali, the left and right-handed combination troubled England's bowlers. The pair are a force to be reckoned with in the format as they became the first partnership in the women's game to bring up 900 Test match runs as a pair, averaging 75.08 together in 13 innings.

Ecclestone gave England the opening by removing Shafali, caught by sub fielder Emma Lamb, but Mandhana found valuable support from Yastika Bhatia who will resume alongside the opener on 39 on the third day.

England will hope for more assistance from the surface when play resumes, especially for a bowling attack unused to putting in such long shifts.