Lord’s Test: England face significant defeat against India as Knight and Beaumont depart cheaply

By Arjun Sharma — 12 July 2026 — 3 min read

England are on the verge of a substantial defeat in the one-off Test against India at Lord’s, heading into the fourth and final day. After India declared their second innings at 341-7, setting England a target of 457 for victory, the hosts concluded day three on 130-6, still requiring 327 runs.

The day saw the final innings for two prominent England batters, Tammy Beaumont and Heather Knight. Beaumont was dismissed for a golden duck, while Knight fell for 13 runs, contributing to England’s struggles. Captain Nat Sciver-Brunt also departed cheaply, bowled for 11, as England slumped to 59-5.

India’s Dominance and Key Performances

A resilient sixth-wicket partnership of 67 between Mady Villiers and Amy Jones offered some resistance for England. However, Villiers’ innings concluded with a catch by Richa Ghosh in the final moments of the day. Jones remained unbeaten on 52.

India’s commanding lead was largely established by Yastika Bhatia, who scored 113, becoming the first female Test centurion at Lord’s. Her performance overshadowed her overnight batting partner, Smriti Mandhana.

England’s bowling showed some improvement in the morning session, with Lauren Bell removing Mandhana for 70 and Jemimah Rodrigues for three. However, any hopes of a comeback diminished after lunch when Bell left the field due to abdominal soreness.

Bhatia capitalised on the bowling of Lauren Filer and Issy Wong to reach her first international hundred. Ghosh’s aggressive fifty further solidified India’s position before Harmanpreet Kaur declared the innings. Sophie Ecclestone achieved figures of 5-118, becoming the first Englishwoman to feature on the Lord’s Test honours board, a rare highlight on a challenging day for England.

Farewell to Veteran Batters

The past two days have seen England significantly outplayed. The occasion of the match, particularly the farewells of Beaumont and Knight, has been a central theme.

Beaumont’s dismissal for a golden duck, bowled by Kranti Gaud’s first delivery, was a brutal end to her career, though she received a standing ovation from the crowd. Knight’s departure to Gaud, who has taken seven wickets in the match, also led to a guard of honour, marking the end of an era for England cricket.

Maia Bouchier was dismissed lbw, bringing Knight and Sciver-Brunt together in an attempt to forge a defiant partnership, but it was short-lived. India’s bowlers, despite not always being as accurate as in the first innings, were rewarded for their tactic of bowling straight, a strategy England struggled to counter throughout the match. When Alice Capsey was bowled, leaving England at 59-5, India had taken five wickets from deliveries that would have hit the stumps.

Bhatia’s composed batting, particularly through the nineties, highlighted England’s inability to apply pressure. She reached her century with ease, aided by wide deliveries from Wong. After Bhatia was caught slogging off Ecclestone, Ghosh’s rapid fifty, scored off 52 balls, prompted Harmanpreet to declare.

Heather Knight’s international career concludes with this Test match. She has played 320 caps, accumulating 8,017 international runs and six centuries across formats. She led England in 199 matches between 2016 and 2025, and captained the side to the 2017 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup title. In 2020, she became the first English player to score a century in all three international formats.

Her notable Test innings include 157 against Australia in 2013, which helped secure a draw and an Ashes triumph, and an unbeaten 168 against Australia in 2022, her career-best, which earned her an ICC Women’s Player of the Month award. In One Day Internationals, she scored 106 against Pakistan in the 2017 World Cup and 109 against India in the 2025 World Cup. Her T20 International century of 108* against Thailand in the 2020 T20 World Cup made her the first woman to achieve centuries in all three formats. She also scored 58 against South Africa in the 2026 T20 World Cup semi-final.

Source: bbc.com