Niki Prasad, who led India to the 2025 U19 Women's T20 World Cup title, says the senior women's team's historic 270-run victory over England in the first-ever women's Test at Lord's has become a powerful source of motivation for young cricketers pushing to earn a national call-up.

A Historic Win at Lord's

India's senior women's side, captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, sealed a landmark triumph at Lord's after bundling out England for 186. Wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia struck an unbeaten 113, becoming the first woman to score a century in a Test at the iconic ground. Pacer Kranti Gaud claimed a five-wicket haul, earning her name on the historic honours board.

Off-spin bowling all-rounder Sneh Rana wrapped up the contest with a four-wicket haul in the second innings, as India sealed their second-highest Test win by runs — and their fourth-biggest Test victory overall.

What Niki Prasad Said

'I think definitely watching them play such good cricket — it was really inspiring to see them win, and especially coming right after the T20 games. It is pretty difficult to adapt to Test matches, especially in India, as we do not play a lot of red-ball cricket,' said Prasad in an exclusive conversation on Friday.

She added: 'The way they went over there and handled the situation and played according to the situation and got that century and five-for — it was really inspiring for us as young cricketers to watch that and see how the Indian women's team were able to achieve that historical win.'

Red-Ball Preparedness on the Rise

Prasad, a JSW Sports-supported athlete, recently represented the India A women's side on their tour of England, where they won the 50-over series 2-1. She highlighted a growing domestic emphasis on red-ball cricket, citing the revival of inter-zonal multi-day tournaments and specialised camps at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

'Here in India, we're slowly starting to get a lot of red-ball tournaments. They had added one to the domestic circuit — the senior multi-days. Even at camps at the CoE, they also prepare us to be able to play red-ball cricket,' she noted. 'That preparation has started slowly, and we've already seen the result of that — India winning at Lord's.'

What's Next for Niki Prasad

Looking ahead, Prasad revealed that a month-long targeted camp at the CoE, commencing in August, will form the centrepiece of her schedule over the next six months. A packed India A calendar — spanning T20s, one-day games, and Test cricket — is expected to follow.

'That's like one whole month of camp. We are going to get used to playing T20, one-day, and Test matches in that camp. That would be a really good preparation going forward to the domestic season, the WPL, and India A series,' she said. With India's red-ball pipeline strengthening, the Lord's win may well mark the beginning of a new era for women's Test cricket in India.