India off-spin all-rounder Sneh Rana has revealed that the team's 270-run victory over England in the first-ever women's Test match at Lord's Cricket Ground was the product of collective manifestation and visualisation that began the moment the squad learned they would play at the iconic venue. The win, sealed on 15 July, marked India's second-highest victory by runs in women's Tests and the fourth-biggest margin in the longer format overall.

Manifestation Before the First Ball

'Since the time we came to know that Lord's would host the Test match, and it is the first time Test cricket would be played there, our manifestation started from there,' Sneh said after returning home. 'We used to think of going there and would say that if we win, India's name will come here and it will remain forever and become history.'

She added that the conversations in the dressing room ahead of the match were entirely focused on the magnitude of the occasion, with players consciously channelling the weight of 142 years of Lord's history — the length of time it took for the ground to host its first women's Test.

Two Memories That Will Last Forever

Sneh singled out two moments she will carry for life: the walk from the Long Room to the field on day one, and the final wicket that sealed the win in under two hours on day four.

'When we wore the Test whites and were going from the Long Room to Lord's, everybody was clapping. When the national anthem started, we could see Lord's in front, including the iconic balcony. Standing on that ground and singing the national anthem while wearing the whites — I think that is the most special memory,' she said.

The second memory was taking the final wicket — castling Sophie Ecclestone to finish with figures of 4 for 42 in the second innings. 'We were waiting for the last wicket for a very long time. Finally, when I took that wicket, it was a very, very good feeling,' she said.

Head Coach Amol Muzumdar's Motivating Words

Head coach Amol Muzumdar played a pivotal role in priming the squad for the occasion. According to Sneh, Muzumdar reminded the players before the match that this first Test would always be singular — no future game at Lord's could replicate the distinction of being first.

'He said that there is a very special chance to write your name on this board, and the names of very special people come there. For the first time, one of you will be writing someone's name there, which no one can erase. It will be imprinted in history,' she recalled.

Kranti, Yastika, and the Honours Board

Young pacer Kranti Gaud became the first bowler to claim a five-wicket haul in a women's Test at Lord's, while wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia scored the first century by a batter in women's Tests at the venue — both names now etched permanently on the Lord's Honours Board.

Sneh was visibly moved recounting Yastika's hundred, particularly given that the batter had suffered an ACL injury just before last year's victorious ODI World Cup. 'When a person fights with her injury, struggles, and emerges from it, then the fruit she gets — that taste becomes very different. Her coming out of the injury phase and going to the Lord's Honours Board is a very big deal,' she said.

On Kranti's fifth wicket — a catch that Sneh herself put down before Shafali Verma dived to complete it — she said: 'Thanks to Shafali, she covered it on my behalf. She will always remember it, I will always remember it, and Shafali will also remember it because that came in a different way.'

Sachin Tendulkar's Surprise Visit

Adding to the occasion, legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar made a surprise appearance ahead of day four. 'When he came, he told us that he had come to cheer for us and to enjoy the match because after many years, the first women's Test was taking place, and this was the victory of women's cricket,' Sneh said.

Tendulkar left the squad with a single line that resonated deeply: 'Just stay hungry and humble.' The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side, now unbeaten in red-ball cricket in England, will look to carry that spirit into future Tests as women's cricket continues to expand its footprint at the game's most storied venues.