4 min readJul 11, 2026 11:54 PM IST At Shenley in July 1999, Purnima Rau became the first Indian woman to take a Test five-for in England. Seven years later, Jhulan Goswami repeated the feat at Taunton, and it seemed India would not have to wait long for a third. Had they played more than two Tests in England in the past two decades, perhaps they wouldn’t have. It is, however, a debate for another day. Today, the prolonged wait finally came to its conclusion as Kranti Gaud became only the third Indian female cricketer ever to take an overseas Test fifer. It took her only four deliveries to open her account. A wobble-seam delivery tailed in late, and Maia Bouchier was caught by Yastika Bhatia. It was only Gaud’s third wicket in Test cricket, but the celebration was muted, as if she knew there was more to follow. And so it did, only three deliveries later, but not off her bowling. Sayali Satghare trapped Heather Knight lbw with a late outswinger. Gaud soon joined …