India Women set to play Test cricket after six years
The Indian women's cricket team is set to play a one-off Test match against England Women "later this year". BCCI secretary Jay Shah gave the confirmation through a tweet on Monday. Notably, this will be the first Test for India Women in over six years. It is understood that the match will be played when India tour England later this year. Here is more.
Here is what Shah tweeted
On the occasion of #InternationalWomensDay, I’m pleased to announce that #TeamIndia @BCCIWomen will play a one-off Test match against @ECB_cricket later this year. The women in blue will be donning the whites again 🙏🏻 🇮🇳
— Jay Shah (@JayShah) March 8, 2021
India Women yet to play their first Test since 2014
Women's Tests aren't common in international cricket these days. The last six Test matches since August 2015 have been played between England and Australia. These are the only teams to still play Test cricket internationally. Meanwhile, India played their last Test against South Africa in November 2014. They won the game held in Mysore by an innings and 34 runs.
India Women have played 36 Test matches
The Indian women's cricket team has played a total of 36 Tests so far. The tally includes five wins and six defeats, while 25 of them have resulted in draw. Interestingly, India Women have won their last three Tests (vs SA, vs ENG, vs ENG).
India W and England W last clashed in 2014
India Women and England Women last played a Test against each other in August 2014, in Wormsley. The visitors claimed a six-wicket victory while chasing 181 runs. Indian skipper Mithali Raj (50*) and debutant Smriti Mandhana (51) registered fifties as India completed the run-chase. Meanwhile, senior fast bowler Jhulan Goswami picked up a total of five wickets in the match.
ICC to expand women's cricket from next cycle
The tweet by Shah came hours after the ICC announced plans to expand the women's global tournaments in the next cycle of events, which runs from 2023 to 2031. Notably, the revised formats will give more teams the chance to compete on global stage. A new T20 Champions Cup has also been introduced, which will be held twice in this cycle.
