Women’s cricket is set to conquer yet another fort. One hundred and forty-two years after hosting the first men’s Test match, Lord’s Cricket Ground finally welcomes the women’s Test match on Friday, when England take on India in a historic four-day contest. The landmark moment came more than 50 years after Lord’s hosted the first women’s international on August 4, 1976, when England beat Australia by eight wickets in the ODI.The inaugural women’s Test match is expected to be played in front of the largest crowd in the format’s history. Lord said in a media release: “More than 30,000 tickets have been snapped up for the historic four-day England vs India Women’s Test match at Rothere, making it one of the most-watched women’s Test matches ever in the world.”“It’s really unbelievable to me, it’s the first women’s Test at Lord’s,” India coach Amol Muzumdar said Wednesday.india captain Harmanpreet Kaur echoed these sentiments and described the moment as a dream come true.“This is a very important moment for all of us. As a captain and a player, I am really looking forward to this opportunity. As kids, we always dreamed of playing Test cricket and playing at Lord’s was one of those dreams. All the girls were very excited.” However, India suffered a setback on the eve of the tournament with opener Pratika Rawal missing out with a knee injury. Priya Punia took her place in the team.
