Looking back at the last 3 Test matches between India Women and England Women
India Women will soon head to the United Kingdom to play a one-off Test against the England women's cricket team in Bristol. The match will begin on June 16 and end on June 19. It will be India Women's first Test match in six years.
The Indian women's cricket team has been one of the most successful units in the game's longest format. Having made their Test debut in 1976, India Women have played 36 Test matches to date, recording five wins, six defeats and 25 draws.
Interestingly, the Indian women's cricket team did not win a single Test in the 20th century. They won their first Test against South Africa Women on March 22, 2002 in Paarl. Since that historic win, the Indian women's cricket team has lost only one Test.
India Women have played a lot of Test matches against England Women. With the two nations set to lock horns again in this format, here's a look at what happened in the previous three Tests between the two teams.
2006: India Women registered a historic series victory against England Women
The Indian women's cricket team visited England for a 2-Test series in 2006. The first Test match was played in Leicester. The home team batted first and posted 223 runs riding on Caroline Atkins' half-century.
In reply, fifties from Jhulan Goswami and Hemlata Kala helped the visitors take a 75-run first-innings lead. England Women fought back well in the second innings as a 154-run second-wicket partnership between Claire Taylor and Laura Newton powered them to 345/8.
Chasing 271 for win, India Women were 74/6 at one stage and England looked on course for a victory. However, Rumeli Dhar and Amita Sharma saved the day for India with their half-centuries. The game eventually ended in a draw, with India's finishing at 187/8 in 84 overs.
The two teams played the second Test match in Taunton. India Women batted first in this game and posted 307 runs thanks to Anjum Chopra's 98. Despite Isa Guha's four-wicket haul, England could not restrict India to a score below 300.
Jhulan Goswami then ran through the English batting lineup. She returned with figures of 5/33 in 13 overs as India Women enforced the follow-on on England Women after bowling them out for just 99 runs.
Skipper Charlotte Edwards scored a hundred in the second innings. However, her team could set only a 98-run target for the visitors. England managed to take five wickets in the fourth innings, but they could not defend the meager target. The win helped India Women register their maiden Test series triumph in England.
2014: India Women beat England Women by six wickets in Wormsley
India Women entered the Wormsley Test against England Women in 2014, with as many as eight debutants in their playing XI. The likes of Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Thirush Kamini made their respective Test debuts in that game.
Although India Women had an inexperienced lineup, they defeated the home team by six wickets. Mithali Raj won the toss and elected to field. Her bowlers did not disappoint her as the Niranajana Nagarajan-led attack bowled England out for 92 runs.
Jenny Gunn led England's fightback with a five-wicket haul. Her figures of 5/19 ensured India Women only took a 22-run first-innings lead. Gunn then scored a half-century with the willow to take England's second innings score past 200.
India were set a target of 181, and fifties from Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj helped them chase down the score with six wickets in hand. The visitors batted with a run rate of less than two runs per over but still managed to pull off their second consecutive Test win over England Women.
It will be interesting to see if India can complete a hat-trick of wins against England next month.