Shree Charani’s dream year reached another landmark on Friday as the 21-year-old left-arm spinner made her Test debut for India in the historic one-off women’s Test against England at Lord’s.
Rewarded for her match-winning exploits in the Women’s T20 World Cup, Charani received her maiden Test cap from vice-captain Smriti Mandhana ahead of play at the Home of Cricket. The occasion was equally significant for women’s cricket, with Lord’s hosting its first-ever women’s Test, five decades after the venue staged its first women’s international match.
T20 World Cup exploits earn Test debut
Charani forced her way into India’s Test XI after an outstanding Women’s T20 World Cup campaign, where she finished as the team’s leading wicket-taker with 14 scalps in five matches. The haul is the highest by an Indian in a single edition of the tournament, eclipsing Poonam Yadav’s previous record of 10 wickets from the 2020 World Cup.
Only New Zealand captain Amelia Kerr, with 15 wickets in the 2024 edition, has claimed more wickets in a single Women’s T20 World Cup than Charani. Her stellar performances also saw her climb to the No. 1 spot in the ICC Women’s T20I bowling rankings.
India also recalled wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia, who returned to the Test side after missing the team’s previous two red-ball assignments against South Africa and Australia.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and elected to field first. The hosts also handed maiden Test caps to Alice Capsey and Mady Villiers.
Playing XIs
India Women: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Yastika Bhatia, Harmanpreet Kaur (captain), Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh (wicketkeeper), Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sayali Satghare, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud.
England Women: Tammy Beaumont, Maia Bouchier, Heather Knight, Nat Sciver-Brunt (captain), Alice Capsey, Amy Jones (wicketkeeper), Mady Villiers, Sophie Ecclestone, Issy Wong, Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer.
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