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Kranti Gaud is now part of cricketing history.

With a magnificent five-wicket haul against England on day two of the historic first-ever Women’s Test at Lord’s, the young pacer became the first woman to etch her name on the Lord’s dressing room Honours Board. Playing just her second Test, Kranti claimed her maiden five-wicket haul as England were bundled out for 170, handing India a massive 115-run first-innings lead. As her fifth wicket fell, the Lord’s crowd rose to acknowledge the remarkable achievement with a warm round of applause.

But this is not the first time Kranti has produced magic on English soil.

After making her ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Colombo in May 2025, she travelled to England for a three-match ODI series. The third ODI at Chester-le-Street was the series decider. India posted a daunting 319 before England fell 13 runs short, thanks largely to Kranti’s historic six-wicket haul. The performance made her the second-youngest Indian woman to claim a five-wicket haul in ODIs. She finished the series as the leading wicket-taker with nine wickets at an outstanding average of 15.11. Later that year, she picked up nine wickets in the home ODI World Cup and played a key role in India’s historic title-winning campaign.

England has clearly become a special place for Kranti, and her latest milestone at Lord’s has only strengthened that bond.

Speaking at the press conference after the second day’s play, she said: “The conditions in England have always suited me. I took six wickets here last year as well. My job is simply to bowl in the right areas and let the pitch and conditions do the rest.”

Behind the success and the growing recognition, lies years of hard work and dedication. Few would have imagined that within one and a half years of making her international debut in May 2025, Kranti would become an ODI World Cup winner and register a five-wicket haul at Lord’s in the first-ever Women’s Test at the iconic venue.

When she first grabbed the spotlight after dismissing Meg Lanning in the WPL for UP Warriorz, her pace and fitness immediately stood out. Since then, she has continued to evolve. However, after the ODI World Cup, she went through a relatively quiet phase in bilateral cricket, the WPL and the recently concluded ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. At times, she appeared to have become a little predictable, struggling to create enough wicket-taking opportunities.

One thing, however, has remained constant—her willingness to improve.

Since the start of the ongoing UK tour, which includes the T20 World Cup and this Test, bowling coach Aavishkar Salvi has spent considerable time working closely with Kranti, often providing feedback after almost every delivery in training. The same was evident during India’s practice sessions at Lord’s ahead of the Test, and the hard work appears to have paid off.

Although Kranti picked up India’s only wicket on day one, the bowlers knew they had to attack the stumps more consistently considering the nature of the surface. On the second morning, both Kranti and Sayali Satghare executed that plan brilliantly. They stuck to disciplined lines and lengths, troubled the England batters throughout the session and reduced the hosts to 47/4.

“Our plan was to keep bowling in the right areas. Our focus was always on either creating dot-ball pressure or taking wickets.”

The history has now been made, but the next challenge for the young pacer is to build on this momentum. Consistency across formats remains the next step in her development. She is only at the beginning of her international journey, yet she has already achieved milestones that many can only dream of. If she continues to add consistency to her pace and skill, this may just be the beginning of many more records to come.

The post From Chester-le-Street to Lord’s: Kranti Gaud’s love affair with England continues appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.

Former England women’s cricket team captain Heather Knight has announced that she will retire from international cricket. The 35-year-old, who is currently playing in the historic one-off Test against India at Lord’s Cricket Ground, will bring the curtains down on what was a glorious career that spanned for 16 years. Knight was one of England’s most successful captain, having led the women’s team on 199 occasions in the past.

Heather Knight announces retirement

“I’m extremely grateful and privileged to have gone on the journey that I have been on as an England cricketer. It’s hard to walk away because the dressing room and the people in the dressing room have been a constant in my life for 16 years, and the memories and the experiences and the people have helped shape me become who I am today, but I’m really content with this decision and I’m really excited for what’s next.

I’ve been lucky to play with some amazing cricketers, and some amazing people who have taught me a lot, inspired me and supported me throughout my career. I want to say a huge thank you to my teammates, coaches and support staff. I’d like to specifically give the medical staff a shout out as well. I’m not sure how this body has got through 300-odd games of cricket. It’s taking a lot of patching up and hard work on their part and I owe them one,” Heather Knight said in a statement.

Knight made her debut for England in T20Is and ODIs in 2010 as an 18-year-old. She is the third highest run-getter at present for the side in T20Is (2656 runs from 145 matches) and in ODIs (4372 runs from 160 matches). Heather’s entry into the leadership group came in 2014 when she was named the vice-captain. Subsequently, she succeeded Charlotte Edwards as the England Women’s Cricket team captain in 2016. Under Knight’s captaincy, England lifted the ODI World Cup in 2017. Having played over 320 international matches, she tops the list of players who have featured in most games for England.

Knight is currently playing in the one-off Test against India Women at Lord’s. She managed to score just 6 runs in the 1st innings before she was sent packing. Heather could potentialy walk out to a standing ovation for the last time over the next two days.

The post Heather Knight announces retirement: Ex-England captain to bid adieu after India Test at Lord’s appeared first on Inside Sport India.

The semi-finalists of the first-ever expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup edition are locked and now all the remaining 4 teams are now just a couple of wins away from landing the coveted world title. While last edition’s runners-up France and Spain will be locking horns in the first semi-final, reigning champions Argentina will face a stiff England side in the 2nd last 4 game before the finale on Monday, July 20.

We witnessed one of the most exciting quarter-finals in the history of the FIFA World Cup and the final 4 will be even more better. Ahead of the semis, taking place on July 15 and 16, here’s a recap to what happened in the round of 8.