Buttler blasts England to victory & India pile on pressure in Test

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So England have won this series by 4 matches to nil, another big win. They won by 56 runs in Southampton. England 257 for 3. England India 201 for 8, Butler making 131 and Brook 95, sharing a double century partnership, a record partnership for England in T20 cricket. And India are well beaten again, as they were at Trent Bridge, as they were at Bristol. Michael Carberry has been with us today, and so too Deep Dasgupta, who's been with us throughout the series. So how would you sum it up? Deep.

Yeah, a series to forget for India, but then obviously try and learn from it because I think one of the things that I guess the team has spoken about and we've kind of spoken about as well is the inexperience of this side, especially playing in these conditions. So just hope that they've, they've, they've learned from, from this series, but definitely a series to forget because if you look back, not too many positives to kind of take forward, so to say. So yeah, apart from maybe Shers his innings in the last game and maybe innings here and innings there, not much positives out of the series. So yeah, just, just hopefully that, that a lot of these guys would have learned from this experience and would only make them better players in the future.

Michael, England look quite a good T20 side at the moment, don't they? And they're top of the rankings now thanks to this victory, despite the fact that India won the T20 World Cup earlier in the year. So top of the rankings, and it's a clean sweep by England. And also it continues their excellent recent record where, I mean, they barely lost the game. Okay, they lost that semi-final to, to India, which is significant defeat of course, but they've been so successful in a way that you don't often get runs like England have managed in, in T20 cricket, where you, you win a really high proportion of your games, high percentage of your games.

Yeah, I mean, there are I think they're a team in very good form. And, you know, I think really the turnaround was sort of that World Cup. You know, I thought they say from a sticky start against Nepal, I think they, they've, you know, they built nicely through that tournament. They've said, I think continuity of selections as well has played a part. I think this group has now been together a little while. They understand, you know, got a good nucleus of players. And I said, look, you know, England over the last 10 years, let's be honest, you know, we've been very fortunate to be in a good run of producing some very, very good white ball players who've come in and done well for England. I think the brand of cricket they generally played has suited them well. They've had a lot of success. So, you know, and I think With the other formats not going so well, I think this was sort of needed from England's point of view. They needed, you know, the summer wasn't going particularly well, and I think this is sort of given optimism.

Well, we can hear from the player of the match, Joss Butler, who's been speaking to Nikesh Ragani.

Joss, congratulations. It looked like you had fun out there.

Yeah, a lot of fun. It's obviously brilliant to spend that time in the crease and score those runs.

I mean, it's been a little bit of a time coming. I mean, T20 is such a fickle game, but 18 innings between getting past that half century— did you ever feel out of nick, or did you feel like it was just a matter of time? Because I thought the way you were hitting it in Bristol, there were just signs there that you're in good form, but it's just not quite going for you.

Yeah, definitely. I think in the World Cup I did feel out of form. I was fighting my game and fighting myself a little bit, but went to the IPL and felt really good about my cricket again. But I think I felt some pressure coming back into this shirt and wanting to perform. Obviously, you mentioned how many innings that had been since I passed 50. So I think just getting out of my own way and allowing it to happen and trusting, like you said, that I am in good form and I'm hitting the ball well and just commit to that.

And how easy is it when you've got somebody like Harry Brook at the other end?

Yeah, amazing. He's playing a different game to the rest of us at the moment. He's— I think he's got the best mindset of any batter that I've played with. It's fantastic to see him go about his business. Obviously, he's got the talent and all that, but that fearlessness that he plays with, and as captain as well, where he leads from the front with that is, uh, is incredible.

Coming into this series, you came up against a side that's won back-to-back T20 World Cups, big reputations, a lot of talent as you've seen close up in the IPL year after year. How satisfying is it that you've now leapfrogged India to go to number 1 in the world, and where does that leave this side?

Yeah, I think immensely satisfying. I think, um, you know, Harry and Brendon put an incredible record so far as a coach and captain partnership. And in this format, I think they've been brilliant and led the team so, so well. And as you mentioned, to, to beat India 4-0, who are the back-to-back world champions, is a fantastic achievement from everyone. And it's been a really complete series, you know. I think with the bat, ball, and in the field, we've, we've been exceptional.

Just finally, a lot's been made about India's strength in depth. England seem to have a bit of that as well. I mean, you can afford to drop somebody like Asakib Mahmood or rest him after taking 3 wickets in the first game. Josh Tung comes in, takes wickets, troubles the Indian batters. How, how How much does that sort of inspire you going into the next couple of years with this T20 side?

Yeah, there's a lot of depth really across the board, and I think that's really healthy, that competition. And it's within the side, everyone's pushing each other and wanting to improve their games and get better and better. So that's really healthy for us as a squad as well. So yeah, future's bright. And you mentioned getting to number 1. Now you've got that target on your back and everyone wants to knock you off that spot. So there's plenty more to go.

Congratulations, well played.

Thank you.

They've won 20 of their last 23 T20 matches. Can we draw any conclusions at all from this T20 series as far as the, the Test captaincy is concerned? I mean, Harry Brook has led the team and they won by 4 matches to nil, and of course he's the vice captain of the, of the Test team. And the, you know, the hierarchy got to make a decision about the next England Test captain. What are your thoughts on that?

Well, look, I think the obvious choice should be Harry Brook. I mean, he, look, he's a fine player. He's the obvious sort of player who's going to play in all three forms. So you think, you know, he's almost been groomed for that role a little bit through his recent performance since he's come in the England side. But I suppose it's whether there's enough trust built back. I think that's the— that's probably the one thing that needs to be ticked off. Does he—

does it—

has he built back enough trust through this and, and, and, uh, through the, through the Test series recently, um, to be considered in the, in the shake-up for captaincy? I mean, you kind of feel you're comparing apples and oranges trying to compare how he's captaining in a T20 to how he would compare to being a Test captain. I think for me, yeah, I'm not quite sure if I'll be honest until he's actually done the job. I think there isn't too many other candidates you can look around that setup at the moment. You think maybe Bethel is probably in the conversation, but I think for me that would be a mistake. I think Bethel is too young. I think he should be concentrating on just getting runs and cementing his place there. I don't want to burden him with captaincy right now. So Would you give it back to Joe Root? Would Joe Root want to do it this close to greatness? Quite— I'm not so sure. Um, so I think, yeah, it's—

it's—

you're not blessed with candidates.

No, I think that's a good point, isn't it? Do you, do you think that you can do all 3 jobs?

I think it'd be very tough in the modern calendar. I think it'd be very tough. Um, I mean, even doing 2 out of the 3 is very tough. Um, but as I said, there isn't— who's the other candidates? That's more the concern.

Well, what you could do, I mean, it seems so counterintuitive actually, if you've just won a T20 series 4-nil against the world champions, what you could do is you could give Harry Brook the Test captaincy and you could give the white ball captaincy to someone else, say Sam Curran, for example. That might be an option if you just think it's too much for one person to do.

Yeah, well, that is an option. I'm sure England will be looking at it. Remember, there was a time when Jacob Bethell was given the T20 captaincy for a short series, wasn't he? So that, as I say, I'm sure his name would be coming up. Would they give it to a bowler potentially, you know, with injuries potentially? I don't know if they'll look that way, but Simon Curran for me would be a good shout. I think experienced pro, been around the block long enough, played a lot of international cricket. As I said, you know, we're just not blessed with a lot of options, so I'd say that's that's probably a good one to look at.

England captain Harry Brook also spoke to Nikesh.

Well, Harry, congratulations. Another comprehensive victory. Must be really satisfying.

Very satisfying. Yeah, we're extremely happy with that and we got what we came for. We said after the second game, if we win the next two, we're going to be world number one and we're all ecstatic that we are and we're absolutely buzzing.

That partnership with Jos as well, looked like you're both really enjoying yourself out there. Record-breaking knock, and how good is it to bat with somebody like that who's sort of been there and done it all around the world?

Jos has been a phenomenal player for so many years now, and he's struggled over the last little while, but the way he's played tonight and the way that he showed the world how good he is just sums the bloke up really. He's stuck in there, he's grafted hard. Worked hard on his game, and it's paid dividends tonight. So he's really happy with that performance, and as am I as his captain, and as are all the other players and the coaches.

Now, this India side came here with big reputations, double World Cup winners over the last two editions of that tournament. You've now leapfrogged them to number one in the world. Looking at your side and how it coped against the world champions, how do you see it? Are you the finished article?

There's never such thing as a finished article in cricket or in any sport, to be honest. But we're just happy that we've— that India have come here and we've managed to beat them and beat them fairly convincingly in a few games. So just the things that we've done throughout this series have been awesome. The communication's been spot on. The execution's been exceptional. And just the little chats that we've been having around the squad and trying to play the surface as much as we can has been outstanding. And that's all that me and Baz have been asking for.

No time to rest, into the ODIs now. You're going to come up against a very different looking India side there, like Sivarakumar Kohli, Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah. So there will be some changes. How do you see that challenge?

We'll face that tomorrow. I think we've got the opportunity to enjoy that, enjoy that series win tonight and celebrating going world number one as well. I think the One Day is in a few days, so we'll have conversations about that and in tomorrow and the day after. And yeah, I think it's just worth celebrating what we've just done.

Congratulations, really well played.

Thank you.

Cheers. Thank you.

How do you see it from an Indian perspective, just looking in?

Uh, see, how I see it is I think Harry Brook for me in Test match cricket, uh, because listen, as, as far as, uh, again, we can't really be talking about this format being obviously totally different, but then what What, what has been pretty clear in, in these last 4-5 games, that he can lead. And there are a lot of senior players in this T20 setup who are happy to play under him. So I don't think Harry Brook, the player in Test match cricket, is, is, is under any scrutiny. He's a gun player.

That's—

so we'll keep it separately. I think the question is whether he can lead. And I think from that perspective, this series was important. Uh, he's won, he's led the side well. You had senior players who were happy to play under him. So I think for me, he's ticked a lot of those boxes. But again, that's a valid question, all three formats. And for me, I think T20 England has options. Like you rightly said, there are quite a few options you can go for as T20 captain. But I think Harry Brook and also the off-field and all of that stuff. Listen, the first thing that comes to my mind is obviously Ricky Ponting. When he first came into Test match cricket, there's a lot of stuff which happened. He ended up being one of the most decorated captains the game has ever seen. So, you know, there is a saying in India as well. You know, we have class monitors. So, make the naughtiest guy the class monitor. So, you know, it can go either everyone's going to turn to like him or he will change. So, I think there's a good chance that he will change and he will kind of, you know, and lead the side well. I, for me, I mean, my, my vote for Test, Test match cricket goes to Hybrooks, to be fair.

Right, okay. So India do it, well, the way they do it is they have Shubman Gill as their one-day captain and Shubman Gill as their Test captain, and Shreyas Iyer now as their T20 captain. But it hasn't gone that well for Shreyas Iyer in his kind of first outing. You know, they won the T20 World Cup under a different captain. Shreyas Iyer has been very successful in the IPL, hasn't he? He's won the tournament, he's got to the final. And now he's taken over the India side and bang, suddenly they've lost 2 in Ireland, they've lost 4 in England. And also as well with Punjab Kings, he lost 6 of his last 7 as well.

True, I, I, I completely get that. But yeah, on paper it looks pretty bad, very bad rather. Uh, still not a win under his belt as India T20I captain. But then a captain can only do as much as his team, right? He's only as good as his team. And, and trust, I mean, I personally don't think this this team. There needs to— they need to make a few changes in terms of combination, in terms of personal positioning and all of that. And, and you've got to give him some time because honestly, I mean, I, I would not put this loss onto him completely. Yes, he obviously is the leader of the side, he will have to take some responsibility, but, but it's not on him completely. That's how I see it. So I think there are bigger questions to be answered. And I, like I said, I mean, India needs to go back to the drawing board and, and look at and try and follow the template which has made India successful over the last 4-5 years. And I'm not saying the same personnel. For example, okay, you need wicket-taking bowlers in the middle, find a personnel, find that. So you just figure out what you need and what has made you so successful, and then try and look for those personnel you think would fit into those slots, and not reinvent the wheel if you don't need to, which India doesn't need to.

Here's the India captain, Shreyas Iyer.

Shreyas, another comprehensive defeat. How do you assess that performance?

I think they were sensational in terms of their execution. The way they batted shows a lot of character and determination that they possess. And we, on the other hand, definitely couldn't execute according to our plans. We dropped a couple of catches which costed us in the later half of the game. I think there was a phase where they got around 20 runs in consecutive 3 overs. There was I think that was the changing point in the game.

I mean, it certainly looked like a good batting track. In terms of the way you sort of applied yourselves on the tour, started off disappointingly in Ireland and sort of carried on in that fashion, clean swept here 4-0. In terms of the state of this side at the moment, how do you see things? Is it a transitional phase? Is it just the fact that you guys have played a lot of cricket from the World Cup to the IPL and then straight over here? What do you put it down to?

I think it's the combination of almost everything. We've been playing continuous cricket and that's what we are here for. So being professionals, we can't complain about that. But on the contrary, I would say that we need to work a lot on our fitness and especially in terms of our fielding. If you see the movement of our team compared to their team, it was, it was a massive difference. And fielding, I feel that it's a key It plays a key role, especially in saving runs and also building that sort of energy around the team. So definitely that is one aspect we need to work on.

In terms of T20s, Zimbabwe is the next challenge. What lessons can you take from here and apply there?

Well, honestly, I'm not thinking much about that. Next thing for me is the ODI series, which I need to focus on, and that's what I would be applying my mind in.

Best of luck in the ODI series.

Cheers.

There was a lot of hype around Vaibhav Suryavanshi coming into this series, inevitably as well, because he tore up the IPL, scored all those runs, and he's forced his way in. What are our conclusions from this series about Suryavanshi and what he's achieved, or his struggles actually to come to terms with conditions here?

Well, look, I'm a great believer, look, what goes up must come down at some point. So Yeah, look, whenever you see a young talent like that and the way he's burst on the scene, look, everybody's going to be excited. I get that. But I agree with the points Deep has just made there. I think maybe India got a little bit caught up in the whole excitement train of it all and forgot what they were good at. And, you know, just to leap on a point Deep has just made there, you know, the good thing is those players you talk about that set that template are still around for a period of time. So you're talking about Rohit, you know, you know, talking about Virat Kohli, you know, I think you've got to lean into those guys' experience. Not necessarily pick them, pick them in squads, but I think you've got a, you've got a great template of what you are actually looking for. Because I think for me, they need players that complement, you know. If I'm looking at this India, India batting lineup, it's all a little bit the same. You need those players to come in, you know, work the ball around, still have the power, which Virat and Rohit very, very successfully. Um, but to back on to your point with Siravanchi, look, I think he's a phenomenal— he will be, and he is a phenomenal talent. I mean, to, to take to franchise cricket in the way he has, the way he strikes the ball, he's got his own unique way. Will he have to develop? Of course. There's more analysis in the game now. People, you've seen it already, I think, in executed their plans very well. They went short at the body, into the rib cage, and at this moment in time he didn't really have the answers for it. But look, I'm sure India will look at how he's gone. They will— they'll straight away, they'll be trying to develop that, that area of his game. I think Abhishek Sharma is the same, you know, a little bit guilty of always coming forward. You know, you have to develop a back foot game, especially at this level, because quick bowlers, especially the pace of Archer, Tong—

will England have England had the ammunition, didn't they? That's the thing with Archer and Tye. They had the ammunition to cause some problems at the start.

But then if the idea is to build this team for the next World Cup, which is in Australia, so going to find bouncy pitches there as well. So you have to find those players who can play off the back foot, horizontal and all of that, and play big fields, not 60, 65 yards. In Australia, there's nothing less than 70 unless they change it for the World Cup. That's a different thing. But Generally, there are big, big fields there. So you've got to find those players. You've got to find the right balance there as well. And just quickly on Vaibhav, I think he's a generational talent. One or two games I don't think will change anything. If anything at all, this might help him to develop because everything right now, right through his under-19 or whatever, it's been— he's only seen the highs. And I believe this is the first time he's actually seen a low. So this will only make him a better player in the long term, whether technically, temperamentally. So I think it's not a bad thing. That's how I see it, that he's started his career, international career, the way he has. This will only make him better as far as I'm concerned. So no doubt he's a generational talent. He's going to go on to play for a number of years. And this start is not going to change anything.

Yeah, you're going to have setbacks. Oh, it's tough. It's tough, it's hard, it's international sport.

Well, I mean, just leap on Deeps' point now. I mean, we look, we've seen one of our greatest, Josh Butler. I mean, he's had a massive dip, hasn't he? I mean, 15 games without a 50. Today he turns up and he gets 130 off 60. So you can see, you know, everyone can have a dip in form. You know, that's the game of cricket.

He's in his 30s now. There must be— it must happen to players. You must start to doubt yourself a bit, don't you think? Is it gone? What I had, is it gone? Is it going? And yet you see something like that today and, oh, fantastic.

But you mentioned the age. I think age also kind of— because you're also matured. And someone like Jos Buttler, this is not the first time he's gone through a dip. If you've played international cricket for as long as he has, there have been ups and downs. You know how to come back. I think you also have that maturity to understand how you're going to make that comeback because you've done that in the past as well. As far as I think, I believe as a player, you know, physically you are there and mentally you still have that hunger in you. Because after so many years and achieving what he has, I think the other important thing is, are you still hungry enough? Do you still want to wake up in the morning and do those things? And you still want to like control your diet and all of that and go to the gym? Are you still hungry enough for that? And I believe if Josh Butler still thinks he has it in him and he still wants to go and play. I think with that kind of experience and skill set that he still has, he's got a few years left in him.

How is, um, Harry Brook perceived in India, Adik? Because he, because he pulled out the IPL, didn't he? I mean, he had— he didn't do— he had an IPL season, he didn't do very well at all. He looked a bit all at sea actually, didn't he? Had that, I think, one big innings he played.

He opened that innings.

Yeah.

And the rest, he batted at 4.

And the rest, he kind of struggled, didn't he? And but, you know, against this Indian side, he has batted brilliantly in Bristol, 79 not out, and then 95 not out today.

IPL happens to be the favorite whipping boy of a lot of people, but a lot of people have benefited from it, from the IPL. England cricket, for that matter. You compare England white ball cricket before players were allowed to play in the IPL and after that, There's a huge difference. So yeah, I mean, a lot of people, they just need a reason to get stuck into IPL. But then IPL has helped world cricket in a lot of ways. So I'm just going to leave that aside. Harry Brook is a gun player. He is a superb player. But unfortunately, for whatever reasons, he decided not to. That's his choice, his call. Fair enough. But that does not change the fact that he's a very, very good player.

Yeah, I agree. I mean, look, he plays some very, very eye-catching shots. Um, you know, you think back to a similar player of yesteryear, you can only think of someone like Peterson. He was able to have that fear factor. Um, I mean, look, there's times where I would like Harry Brook to just engage a little bit more brain in the way that he goes about things because he has so many options, so many shots, and there's times where he has bowling attacks, you know, under his spell, and then for some unknown reason will just give it away for, you know, just for no reason. And I would say I would just like that maturity to come through a little bit more, particularly if he's going to start to lead. As we talked about, you know, he's going to be potential captain. I think I'd like to see that come through in his game.

We move on to the one-day series now, 3-match one-day series. And now this has been England's strong suit, this is England's strong suit, T20 one-day series coming up. And very different India team we're going to see, or certainly personnel in the, in the squad. And yeah, we talked actually about Kohli coming back and Bumrah coming back and Gill coming back. Also KL Rahul, it's easy to forget KL Rahul is, is coming back as well. What do you want to see from India and what do you expect to see you see from India in that One Day Series?

Uh, I guess obviously win the series because like I said, I mean, the focus has been on, on this format because of the World Cup. And I don't think India playing too many ODIs before the World Cup. I think they're playing another 9 or 10 ODIs. So there's, there's not a lot of game time before the World Cup. So I think so every game is very, very important. It's also in South Africa where would be very similar kind of conditions there. And also with the likes of someone like Virat and Rohit, because they aren't playing the other formats, it's important that they are game fit and game ready.

Well, are they going to be game ready? That's the thing, isn't it? Because, you know, okay, I know Indian cricketers play a lot of cricket, but how much— how in sync will they be? I mean, you're right, you're coming right in the middle of the English season where all the England players are kind of like primed and ready?

Listen, with Virat, obviously that's not even a question.

He's—

because he's one of the— he's still one of the fittest cricketers around. He does his stuff really, really well. He prepares himself very well. Rohit, again, I mean, yeah, that's a big question. I mean, with Rohit and can he hit the ground running? That's the big challenge. I mean, Because even if you look at ever since he's retired from the other formats, in a 3-series game, let's say, he scores in the last game. But that's not good enough, right? You've got to start well. You've got to be at your best from game 1. But he's been around. He's been practicing. So Bumrah's back. Shubman Gill's back. So looking forward to that series, to be fair.

Yeah. Different sort of— different—

vibe as well.

Yeah.

Different vibe.

Definitely. Final thought from you on that, Michael?

I expect England to have a tougher fight in that series simply because you've got some absolute legends, greats coming back in that India team to complement the young players that they've, that they've got. Some of these will be involved, no doubt, as well. So I expect, I expect a much tougher fight, a bit more. India feel, will feel they have a little bit more artillery to hit England back with, but Say, take nothing away, England in good form too. Good series.

Okay, thanks to Michael and to Deep. Next up, we can travel north to Lord's where the second day of the Women's Test between England and India has been taking place. We can join Alison Mitchell.

The TMS Podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live.

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So, second day of this historic Test match at Lord's where India's women have taken full control and the 22-year-old pacer from Madhya Pradesh, UP Warriors, Kranti Gourd became the first woman to get on the Test honors board at Lord's, taking 5 for 37 as England were bundled out for 170 in 59.1 overs, giving India a first innings lead of 115. They then duly built on that lead through the afternoon and evening session, an opening stand of 88 broken eventually by Sophie Ecclestone. Shefali Verma offering a catch to, uh, Emma Lamb, the substitute fielder, for 33. But Mandhana moving to 69 not out at the close alongside Yastika Bhatia on 39, and India 154 for 1. So a commanding, commanding position going into day 3 of this match, and a whopping lead of 269 with 2 days to go. World Cup winner Alex Hartley alongside me and Anesha Ghosh India cricket writer and broadcaster. Alex, let's talk about England's batting to begin with. The stand of 84 for the fifth wicket between Amy Jones, who top scored with 52, and Nat Sciver-Brunt, 44. It was the only partnership of notes for England. How good was India's bowling? How did you evaluate England's batting performance?

Yeah, I think England will be disappointed with their batting performance. I know that states the obvious, but You know, when you're— when you're India, only at 285, you sort of think, what a great opening to get yourselves back into the game, potentially get a lead. Can you try and get up and around that score? And you know, when they just kept losing wickets in clusters, and it— I don't know if there's a little bit of a World Cup hangover there for England, maybe, with obviously the World Cup final only being Sunday. They only came together Wednesday, trained Wednesday, Thursday, play Friday. Um, it just felt like, I don't know, it felt like at stages England had to sit in. So you can understand last night Maya Boucher, Heather Knight having to bat out till the end of the day, um, and then Nat Sciver-Brunt having to stick in because she kept losing wickets around her. Um, Kranti Gowde bowled amazingly well, you know, that, that wobble ball from this end, she was getting the ball to go both ways, she was getting the ball to talk really nicely. Um, and what India did that England didn't do in the first innings was just attack the stumps and keep things very, very simple. I know it's two different bowling attacks. They've got more spinners and their seamers aren't as quick and they are just more dibbly-dobblers, but they just attack the stumps and they use the facilities much better than England.

Anesha Krantigold got things underway pretty quickly this morning. It didn't take long for her to get what was the second wicket of the innings, the first of the day, Maya Boucher's wicket. Tell us about her and her rise, because it's been quite a story, and she will now have her name etched onto the honors board in that away dressing room.

Incredible. I mean, for a 22-year-old woman to come from a village called Govara in Bundenkhand, located in Madhya Pradesh, central India, and to achieve this piece of history and etch her name onto the coveted Lord's on his boat. I think it's an incredible day for her family, including her mother Neelam, her elder brother Mayank, who've all made a truckload of sacrifices to make sure that this young woman is out there playing. First for Madhya Pradesh, she's gone on to win domestic titles, went on to be picked up by UP Warriors, did really well under the watch of former England coach John Lewis, no less, and subsequently was picked for the Tri-Series in Sri Lanka held in the middle of last year with an eye on the 2025 ODI World Cup. And come that World Cup, she literally shoved Renuka Singh out of contention and was all of a sudden opening the bowling. Harmanpreet Kaur realized— Amol Muzumdar, the head coach, realized that there is a seamer who can move the ball both ways, as Alex Hartley touched upon. And she was one of the standout performers sharing the new ball with the likes of Renuka at times and several others. But today I think it's about her living up to her name, which in English translates to Revolution Kranti, and she's delivered one here at Lord's. And what a day to achieve this feat on, because Lord's also scripting a world record, over 15,000 people. And here is one person from a country of 1. 4+ billion people, doing what no other woman on this planet has done before, to get herself on the Lord's Honours Board, as you rightly mentioned. And she'll be sharing that space with a host of men. Wow, what a story.

Yeah, the first female name to feature on any Lord's Honours Board, whether a female name in this Test match— we'll get on to the, the home dressing, uh, the board in the home dressing room remains to be seen. But at the moment, it's India very much in the driving seat. You mentioned the crowd, 15,243 in attendance on day 2. That is a world record for a single-day attendance of any women's Test match anywhere in the world. So it beats the record that was set in Australia during the last Ashes series. So that is certainly a huge fillip, and still tickets available for people if they want to come. Jump on the Lord's website and buy tickets to come on day 3 tomorrow, Sunday. There was a healthy Indian contingent in today who are making their voices heard. Alex, it wasn't just about Kranti Gaur, she was well backed up as well, wasn't she, by the other bowlers.

Yeah, she really was. You know, I think Sneha Rana, Deepti Sharma— she bowled 2 overs yet didn't go for a run, picked up a wicket. Um, but yeah, she was really backed up. And look, it was a brave decision going into this Test match with only 2 seamers, but backing your spinners, backing, you know, Sneha Rana, Deepti Sharma, Shrey Charani, who is on Test debut, to do the bulk of the work for you. And then when you've got the spinners that are holding up an end and bowling really nicely Um, Kranti Goud able to just then bowl in spells and keep taking wickets.

Was there much more the batters could have done? Or let's go down to Melissa Storey. She's with Amy Jones.

Amy, thank you for speaking to us. First of all, a tough day out there. How do you assess it?

Um, yeah, yeah, it was tough. Um, obviously we didn't get as many runs as we would have liked, and then, um, I think India batted brilliantly all day, really. Some, yeah, big partnerships. Yeah, made it, made it hard for us.

52 runs for yourself, your first half century here at Lord's, and it looked like you were playing fluently in your just natural aggressive game out there. So assessed as a good pitch for batting.

Yeah, it was. Yeah, it was good. I guess just try to be relaxed and we don't play a huge amount of Test cricket, so I guess trying to stick to, to my usual strengths. And yeah, I was happy with the partnership and then shame that couldn't make it a really big one. So, but yeah, the pitch, the pitch is good. There's little bits happening, like the odd one sort of from a keeping perspective, the odd one jumps up for us. So yeah, there's still some, some something to work with.

Kranti Gowde, she bowled wonderful this morning for India. What made her so difficult to play on this surface?

Yeah, I think it was just her length. She's, I think she really held her length well, and then she got a little bit of, of nip as well. So yeah, I guess just her consistency, we've seen it, um, in the white ball, white ball stuff as well. So yeah, she did brilliantly today, and yeah, very well deserved.

It took a little while to get that first wicket of Shefali Verma. We saw Izzy Wong on the boundary clapping along, getting the crowd going. But what were the plans between the bowlers in order to get out there and, and get that wicket?

Um, yeah, I think just, you know, bowling their best ball for as as possible, finding the length on the wicket. And yeah, we had to wait a bit for it. Thankfully we've got, yeah, lots of energy in Izzy Wong, and it was, yeah, she was great to see out there, obviously having, having the best time, which is, yeah, quite contagious. So, um, yeah, we got that wicket in the end, but it did take a little while.

India lead by 269, but there is a lot of time left in this Test match. I appreciate we've grabbed you straight away from being in the dressing room, but What do you think the discussions are going to be about? How do England stay in this game tomorrow?

I guess it's wickets, isn't it? I think, you know, we've got to put pressure on and take as many wickets as we can as quickly as possible. And then when we get a chance to bat, it will be big partnerships, sort of executing our skills for as long as possible. And I guess that's the challenge of Test cricket. And yeah, still 2 days to go, so we're, yeah, definitely up for it.

It's been a long long day in the heat, a bit of chance to rest this evening. Are you all going to be tuning in to the England game tonight against Norway?

Um, well, hopefully, if I can stay awake. 10 PM feels a long way off at the moment, but yeah, if I'm awake, I'll be watching. Brilliant.

Thank you for speaking to us, Amy.

Thank you.

Thanks, Melissa, and thank you to Amy Jones. I'm sure they'll be hoping if they do settle down to watch it, that doesn't end up being extra time penalties and a super, super long night. We will see. Um, Disappointing particular aspect of the England innings was how quickly, Alex, it did fall away once Nat Sciver-Brunt was dismissed for 44. England lost their last 5 wickets for just 28 runs. Um, you know, the moment of the day then being Lauren Bell's wicket, uh, the 9th to fall. That gave, uh, Gough her fifer, and she's able to hold the ball aloft. And it was a quite a fun catch in a way for people to view back on the BBC Sport website and see the clips, because it was a parry, wasn't it, from second slip, but then juggled up and Jafali Verma was there to stretch out one hand to grab the ball. And I mentioned Sneha Rana, she's with Melissa Story now as well.

Oh, here I am. Thank you so much for speaking to us. A really good day for India. You must be so pleased and you've got yourselves into a really strong position.

Yes, definitely. We are so happy with the performance and the way our bowlers did. They did a great job today, including me. So yes, fantastic team effort.

I'm very glad you mentioned your two wickets there. A big one including Amy Jones, who was going along nicely as well. What were your bowling plans?

Uh, it was quite simple to give the revolutions in the ball and, uh, quite simple to hit that good length. And, uh, we knew that if we bowl with patience, we'll get that wicket too. And it was a crucial partnership between those two.

I'm glad that I took that Amy Jones And you were involved in the catch which got Kranti Goud her 5-wicket haul, the first woman to be on the honors board here at Lord's. Just how well did she bowl today?

She bowled brilliantly. It's someone's honor to get that name on that honor board at Lord's. I mean, it's a big, big thing for her, and I mean, exceptionally bowled. I'm so happy for her.

And finally, with that lead of 269 runs, I mean, at this stage, is the aim for India just to bat England out of this game?

Uh, I think so. We'll bat a little longer tomorrow and give a good score, and we are ready up. We're ready for the challenge.

So thank you so much for speaking to us. Rest up well.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

I love that. Snow Rana, the bowlers did a good job, including me. I think more, more cricketers should heap praise on themselves, but she did bowl wonderfully, didn't she? 2 for 41. Of course, the role in the catch to help Kranti Kaad get, get her 5 wickets. So yeah, wonderful performance.

Yeah, one of the best moments of the day because my word, what a catch! One-handed grab that was from Shewali Verma. Eventually, you know, she has had a quiet sort of match so far, but that was something that will go down as absolutely historic in the history of not just women's cricket but Indian cricket because so much has gone into making this occasion come to life, making this a reality on the part of the ECB, the BCCI and of course the Indian men's team have not quite given a good account of themselves on their tour of Ireland and England. And here it is, a day that belongs to the Indian women's cricket team. Such a well-rounded effort all around with bat and ball alike, and every single member of the squad and team kind of putting their hand up. Even Deepti Sharma, for that matter, she did a terrific holding job by Feld with the ball in hand, and subsequently Smriti Mandhana stroking her second half century and nicely supported by Yastika Bhatia. And Smriti Mandhana, by the way, I must mention, has become one of the rare Indian women to score half century in each innings. Sandhya Agarwal, one of the icons and pioneers of women's cricket in India, right up the top of the list. And Shefali Verma herself was one of those people who have, who have done that in the past, in that Bristol Test in 2021. So all around, it's one of the most memorable days, I think, in, in women's cricket history in India. And Harmanpreet Kaur, who has been doing a few throwdowns in the far end of, uh, the field of play, would be mighty pleased because this has been a long, utterly protracted tour for India. This is their 49th day in England. They lost that bilateral T20I series 2-1, got knocked out in the group stages in the T20 World Cup, and here they have really put themselves in a very, very strong position to not only draw but go on to win this. And hey, it bears reminding that India have never lost a Test match in England in women's Tests.

Thanks for that reminder.

That is true.

They do have that record at stake, and they're in a great position to protect it as well. Alex, what more could England have done with the ball? Because I said it took a long time for that opening partnership to be broken. Also took quite a long time for Ecclestone to, to come back and, and really get into a spell.

Yeah, I felt like Ecclestone could have and should have been brought into the attack a little bit earlier. Um, if not Maddy Villiers, that I think the seamers bowled for a little bit too long. And, and the inconsistency of the seamers was, was quite frustrating to, to watch at times because we were talking about how little of the percentage of balls hitting the stumps there was in the first innings, and England had to improve that leading into this innings. And it went down, it went from 20% to 19%. And I know very different bowlers, but I think, still think hitting the top of off is always the, the plan A and trying to keep the stumps in play. So England just ultimately not, not attacking the stumps as much as they could have or should have. And, um, yeah, ultimately Sophie Ecclestone being held back. And obviously she has been quite expensive. She— I think she's gone at 4, uh, 4 and over. She's brought it back a little bit now, just less than 4 and over. So yeah, I think everybody, everybody has been expensive. It just shows the, the lack of the percentage of the balls hitting the stumps. Because when India was bowling and hitting the stumps and felt like they were hitting the stumps time and time again, it was quite difficult to score.

Some improvement from Lauren Bell though up front. She managed 5 maidens and really what was the, the most economical of, of the bowlers. So pleased to have seen an improvement from her first innings to second innings.

Yeah, definitely. And 11 overs, uh, today for Lauren Bell. And look back, back to, you know, consistently doing what she does well— swinging, swinging the ball away from the right-hander now and occasionally getting that ball to nip. So yeah, it's good to see her back and hopefully she can come back firing tomorrow and be as consistent.

But notably that India seemed to up the tempo after the drinks break, didn't they? And England again weren't able to, to keep control in that moment.

I think there was a real chat at the drinks break of not allowing, or like not giving England too much and not letting them settle into their spells as much. And Lauren Bell obviously settled into hers and bowled really nicely, but then it was like change of bowlers, Lauren Lauren Wong, I nearly just said. Is it? Yeah, an absolute rip snorter of a bowler Lauren Wong would be. Um, she'd have everything, wouldn't she? Um, Izzy Wong came back on with it, with the seam, with the spin. It's been a long day. Sophie Ecclestone, and, uh, just managed to get a boundary every, every over, it felt like, and, and rotate the strike. Maddie Villiers came on from the nursery ground then and kept getting cut to the deep and wasn't quite as consistent consistent as yesterday. So yeah, it did feel like post-drinks there was a real, okay, let's just accelerate. For— it only felt like it was like half an hour, but it— they did the damage then, didn't they?

Yeah, and you can only really recall one sort of chance where the edge of the bat was found. That was Izzy Wong, wasn't it? And then the ball just went wide of Nat Sciver-Brunt with an outstretched hand at slip, and then it ran away down to the boundary for 4. So very few chances even created today.

Yeah, I think that's been the impressive thing from India and their discipline out there in the middle, is they know they've got the time. So Mandhana, who's faced 120 24 balls for her 69, is able just to take time out the game. There's so much time left in this game, so she isn't in a rush to go anywhere or do anything. You can just wait for a ball with your name on. So it was pretty chanceless from India, wasn't it?

Projecting forward then, Anesha, India's plan and, and their projection through tomorrow.

How long—

at the moment, how long they will bat for is in their hands, you would imagine, given they've still got all these wickets in hand, only one down overnight. Um, if, if it stays that way and a declaration is in their hands, how long would they want to bat for and how long to then try and bowl England out?

Well, Smriti Mandhana, in her last conversation with our colleague Melissa Story, had mentioned how she rued the fact that India had lost out on the opportunity to put on 400 in the first innings. And make no mistake, they have the record for one of the highest totals in women's tests, 604 against South Africa. They scored on home soil in 2024. So here the target would be, Ali, to just bat England out of the contest and make sure that India are inching closer towards what would be a memorable victory. I wouldn't mind if India go on to bat till tea, for that matter, because you have the whole of the fourth day, and England batters have looked a fair bit tentative, you know, against Sylee Sadhgare, the other seamer, of course, but also the spinners. And perhaps that speaks to the disparity between red ball preparation. India have a red ball 4-day women's tournament domestically. England unfortunately do not. So I'm sure the performance of England will be seen or perceived and then subsequently scrutinized through the dearth of that domestic competition at some point, and especially if they do go on to lose, lose this one. But yeah, England should— India should in fact look to bat deep. Harmanpreet Kaur will also, as we saw her prepping for tomorrow's, uh, bout out there, expected at number 4 or 5. Well, Jimmy Ma will be in at 4. And all of these batters themselves are very hungry because they want a slice of history here. They want to score that 50 or 100, a quick-fire one. Smriti Mandhana should not miss out on a second opportunity. She had gotten herself out on 83 today. She has done well to play a knock high and high composure. And if you remember, her first innings 50 came off a run-a-ball. Today she got to that landmark of 87-odd deliveries, if I'm not mistaken. So she understood the assignment and she's been guiding Yastika Bhatia really well. So she will look to hold anchor at one end and make sure that Yastika plays with freedom and both of them get to as many milestones as they can. And get close to that 450 mark this time around, perhaps.

Phil Long, some stats for the day, and in particular, I guess, fourth innings.

Well, that's exactly it. Stats for tomorrow, really, and stats for day 4. Uh, yeah, fourth innings of women's Test matches. The highest score ever made in the fourth innings, 245 for 9. That was for England versus Australia in 2022. The most number of runs made to win a women's Test match, 198 for 3. Nobody's ever made more than 200 to win a women's test. That was for Australia versus England in Sydney in 2011. Here's one: the most overs ever batted out in the fourth innings to draw a test, 137. Now, if India were to declare about tea time tomorrow, it would be that kind of number we'd be looking at. And I'll just repeat what Anisha said, but I'll spin it the other way.

England have never beaten India at home, so there's a chance for them to make history. What turnaround that would be! Thank you for listening. That is it for this episode. Make sure you're subscribed so that you never miss a thing. TMS is on air daily at 10:30 AM for the duration of this Women's Test at Lord's, and you can watch daily highlights on BBC iPlayer.

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