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Figure caption,'Sometimes fairytales do not happen' - Beaumont out for a golden duck in last innings
ByFfion WynneBBC Sport journalist at Lord's- Published12 July 2026, 18:39 BST
England v India, one-off Test, Lord's (day three of four)
India 285 (Mandhana 83; Ecclestone 3-68) & 341-7 dec (Bhatia 113; Ecclestone 5-118)
England 170 (Jones 52; Gaud 5-37) & 130-6 (Jones 52*; Satghare 2-19)
England trail by 327 runs
England are facing a heavy defeat heading into the fourth and final day of the one-off women's Test against India at Lord's.
After India declared on 341-7 and set England a world record chase of 457, the hosts finished on 130-6, needing another 327 for victory.
There were no fairytale endings for the retiring Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight, as the former was bowled for a golden duck and Knight fell for 13 to leave England in disarray.
Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt was also out cheaply, bowled sweeping for 11, and England slumped to 59-5 before Mady Villiers and Amy Jones resisted with a gritty sixth-wicket stand of 67.
Villiers' resistance was ended by Richa Ghosh's sensational catch at silly mid-off in the final 10 minutes of the day as India edged closer to a crushing win, despite Jones being unbeaten on 52.
The visitors' insurmountable lead was set up by Yastika Bhatia, who outshone her overnight batting partner Smriti Mandhana to become the first female Test centurion at Lord's with a majestic 113.
England's bowling improved in the morning session as Lauren Bell removed Mandhana for 70 and Jemimah Rodrigues was bowled for three, but any hopes of a miraculous comeback were decimated after lunch when Bell was off the field with abdominal soreness.
Bhatia feasted on Lauren Filer and Issy Wong's inability to target the stumps to bring up her first international hundred, before Ghosh's counter-attacking fifty hammered home their advantage for Harmanpreet Kaur to declare before tea.
Sophie Ecclestone finished with 5-118 to become the first English woman on the Lord's Test honours board but that was a rare cause for celebration on another difficult day of Indian dominance.
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Figure caption,Bhatia milestone moment as she becomes first woman to score a Test century at Lord's
After Mandhana threw away the chance at a hundred with her 83 in the first innings, it felt inevitable in the conditions and with India in such a dominant position that she would be the one to carve her name into history and on the honours board.
Mandhana and Rodrigues are the superstars in India's line-up, but it was the understated brilliance of Bhatia who quietly went about her work and followed Gaud's efforts with the ball the previous day.
England have struggled to adapt to the conditions since Sciver-Brunt surprisingly made the call to bowl first, both with the slope and to India's stylish left-handers.
Bell picked up a couple of wickets as reward for her consistency but there is a concern about how little support she has from the rest of the seam attack. Wong and Filer were not needed during the World Cup and their struggles this week leave England with some question marks over their depth in the fast bowling department.
Bhatia eased through the nineties with help from Wong bowling wide outside off stump, needing just six balls go from 91 to three figures with two gifted boundaries along the way, indicative of England's inability to build any pressure.
She was eventually caught slogging off Ecclestone but a bizarre passage of play followed where the hard-hitting Ghosh seemed unsure about whether to hit boundaries or turn down singles despite having a lead of more than 400 and England's bowlers being completely exhausted.
Once she had kicked on to a 52-ball fifty, Harmanpreet finally made the signal to put England out of their misery, albeit very fleetingly.
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