From Chester-le-Street to Lord’s: Kranti Gaud’s love affair with Engl…

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. lebandit.lat

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.

Reigning champions Argentina produced a hard-fought and inspirational turnaround victory against Switzerland to set-up a semi-final tie against England at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Argentina looked to be in complete control early on and opened the scoring in the 10th minute. Lionel Messi floated in a precise corner kick, allowing the unmarked Alexis Mac Allister to power home a firm header.

However, Switzerland refused to back down and slowly grew into the match. Their hard work paid off in the 67th minute when Dan Ndoye beat Emiliano Martínez from close range to secure a well-deserved equalizer.

The momentum shifted entirely in the 72nd minute during a controversial sequence. Swiss forward Breel Embolo went down to win a free-kick, resulting in a booking for Argentina’s Leandro Paredes. However, following a VAR intervention for simulation, the referee reversed the decision, handing Embolo his second yellow card and a subsequent red card instead.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Switzerland fought bravely to push the match into extra time. The decisive blow finally landed in the 112th minute when Julian Alvarez picked up the ball on the edge of the area and curled a spectacular, long-range strike into the top corner.

With Switzerland throwing everyone forward in the dying seconds, Lautaro Martínez finished off a swift counter-attack in the 121st minute to seal the victory and set up a blockbuster semi-final clash against England.

Argentina set to renew rivalry with England

Jos Buttler became the wicketkeeper with the most international sixes, surpassing MS Dhoni. He achieved this milestone during his impressive 131-run innings against India. Buttler's sensational knock helped England secure a dominant series victory over their opponents. The England batter's record-breaking performance highlighted his destructive batting capabilities. This achievement adds another significant record to Buttler's illustrious career.