India women's team head coach Amol Muzumdar believes his side has moved on from the disappointment of a group-stage exit at the T20 World Cup and is eager to embrace the occasion of playing the first-ever women's Test at Lord's.

India take on England in the historic four-day contest which begins on Friday (July 10), with the visitors looking to begin afresh after a disappointing World Cup campaign. England, meanwhile, head into the Test after finishing runners-up to Australia.

Muzumdar admitted it was surprising that Lord's had never before staged a women's Test and described the occasion as a landmark moment. "Absolutely, I mean, but it just boggles my mind that it's just the first Test match here at Lord's, but having said that really fortunate and you know would like to extend my wishes to everyone who is involved in this. It's a great occasion and we are looking forward to it."

Muzumdar said playing a Test at Lord's was a dream for any Indian cricketer and revealed that the fixture had been a topic of conversation within the dressing room even before the World Cup got underway. "It's a dream to play a Test match for any Indian cricketer, leave alone playing at Lord's. I am sure everyone who would wear those whites would be proud of them being there at Lord's to play the Test match.

"We have always maintained this in the dressing room that we have done traditionally, we have done really well in the Test matches. Everyone was talking about the Test match at Lord's even before the World Cup started, the time is now, so I guess they will be excited about it."

The India coach acknowledged that recovering from the disappointment of the World Cup had taken time, but said the team has turned its attention to preparing for the Test. "To be honest it has been a mixed bag. We had to recover from the loss. We were disappointed for sure, I mean we didn't have the best of World Cups.

"But having said that, the character of the team had to come out and we need to get out of that phase and come into the Test match preparation sooner. And I guess we have managed to do that, we had five really good days of prep, few days at Wormsley Cricket Club. A beautiful ground, just a perfect setting for the preparations and then here at Lord's. So I guess the preparation has been good and as I said excited to be here at Lord's."

Muzumdar added that the message within the group was to put the World Cup behind them and focus entirely on the challenge ahead. "I think all we need to do is just stay in the present. What is gone we cannot change it, we know it, we have discussed about it within the squad and we can't change what has happened. All we need to do is look forward and prepare the best we can for the event ahead. So I guess that's been the talk and I am sure all of them, all the players are looking forward for the Test match. Just leave aside the disappointment and get into the present and look forward to it."

India head into the Lord's Test having last played a four-day game four months back - a pink-ball Test at the WACA in which they went down by 10 wickets to Australia. Before that, they had not played a Test in 2025, with their previous appearance coming in 2024 when they registered a 10-wicket win over South Africa in Chennai. England, too, have had little red-ball cricket in recent times, their last Test dating back to January 2025 when they suffered an innings defeat at the hands Australia at the MCG.

Muzumdar, who welcomed the suggestion of having more women's Tests, also spoke about the appeal of red-ball cricket, saying the format posed different challenges and remained as exciting as ever for both him and the players. "Red-ball cricket is always exciting and it brings different challenges. You've got to bowl 100 overs, mind you, and it's a four-day game. 100 overs in a day.

"So, I guess, different challenges, different excitement, different, you know, ability comes to the shore. So, I guess, Test cricket will always be Test cricket. Personally, I'm...call me an old-timer, but I think, yeah, red-ball cricket brings a lot of excitement - in this squad, at least. What I've seen in the dressing room, they're all looking forward for the Test match and they're geared up for it," said Muzumdar.