Smriti Mandhana’s unbeaten half-century in her 300th international appearance helped India reach 122/3 at lunch on the opening day of the one-off women’s Test against England at Lord’s. Mandhana became the first woman to score a Test fifty at the iconic venue, leading India’s recovery after early wickets.

London, July 10: Smriti Mandhana’s counter-attacking unbeaten half-century in her 300th international game guided India to 122/3 in 25 overs at lunch on the opening day of the one-off Test match against England at Lord’s on Friday.

In what is also the first-ever women’s Test to be played at the iconic venue, England picked up three crucial wickets in an action-packed first session. But the honours majorly belonged to Smriti, who brought out her wonderful shots and punished England heavily through the leg side to hit nine boundaries and a six.

Smriti leads India’s strong start

Opting to bowl first, England found immediate movement off the seam via Lauren Bell. India suffered an early blow in the second over when opener Shafali Verma was completely squared up by a sharp, short-of-length delivery from Lauren Filer and nicked behind to wicketkeeper Amy Jones for a duck.