‘All her teammates were crying’: Father recalls support for India team after injury to Yastika Bhatia as batsman scores historic century at Lord’s

Yastika Bhatia celebrates her century during the third day of the Women’s Test match between England and India at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 12, 2026 in London, England. (Photo/Getty Images) Mumbai: Yastika Bhatia’s century at Lord’s on Sunday was a milestone for Indian women’s cricket, but it also marked the end of a difficult period for her family. The 25-year-old batsman became the first woman to record a Test set at Lord’s when she made 113 off 158 balls with 14 fours against England on the third day of the first ever women’s Test at the “Home of Cricket”.Her father Harish Bhatia said the innings was the result of months of hard work following a knee injury that ruled Yastika out of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup and kept her out of cricket for about six months following ACL surgery in October.Speaking to TOI from Baroda, Harish recalled an incident from the Indian women’s team camp in Visakhapatnam last September that showed the bond Yastika shares with her teammates.“All her teammates cried when Yastika got injured. They didn’t even let her pack her bags because she was injured and did it for her. It was such a nice gesture from them. Later, they all checked on her when she was undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI’s Center of Excellence in Bengaluru. They told her, ‘Get well, we would be messaging Yastika the actor soon.’ to thank all her colleagues from India for their support at this stage,” Harish Bhatia told TOI from Baroda.Harish said the injury left Yastika disappointed as she wanted to help India in the ODI World Cup, but quickly set her sights on a return to international cricket.“Yastika was definitely down after the injury because she wanted to help India win the ODI World Cup last year. But she wanted India to win the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2026 and she said to me, ‘Dad, I will help India win the T20 World Cup.’ Unfortunately it couldn’t happen but now she has scored a brilliant century at Lord’s,” said Harish.He thanked former India wicketkeeper Kiran More, who had mentored Yastika for years, for helping her through the recovery period and preparing her for the England tour.“Yastika prepared very hard for the tour. The credit goes to Kiran More, who was like a father to her and guided her every step of the way. He always told her, ‘Yastika, you are my best student.’ During her injury phase, he kept encouraging her, telling her, “This phase will end. It’s only a matter of six months.” Mr. Kiran coached her for hours together, both in wicket and batting. Yastika is also a hardworking and extremely disciplined cricketer. I never saw her miss a single practice. When we bought a new house in Kanali, Vadodara, she was present for the ‘Griha Pravesh’, which we did on her birthday on November 1, but after that she was not there as she was undergoing rehabilitation at the CoE and was then in the Indian team,” said Harish Bhatia.He also thanked those who supported her comeback.“I would like to thank all her trainers and coaches who helped her regain her fitness, at CoE and Baroda, BCCI, selectors and Indian Women’s Head Coach Amol Muzumdar for showing faith in her abilities despite the ACL injury,” he added.More said Yastica’s century was a reward for her perseverance after dealing with injuries and setbacks.“It was a beautiful century, she played very well. She was always very talented but really struggled with injuries and was often dropped in the past. But Yastika has now proved her worth with this special game in the Lord’s Test,” More told TOI.The gentleman’s century followed another important contribution earlier on the England tour when Yastika scored a match-winning 54 off 40 balls in the first T20I at Chelmsford. She had previously managed just 41 runs in four matches at an average of 13.66 during the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, where India made the league stage.Former India captain Diana Edulji believes the innings could be a turning point in Yastik’s career.“It was a fabulous century. I hope this is a turning point in Yastica’s career. She needs to stay injury free and focus on being consistent,” Edulji told TOI.With her hundred, Yastika also joined the elite list of Indian cricketers to reach a Test century at Lord’s. The list includes Vinoo Mankad (1952), Gundappa Viswanath (1979), Dilip Vengsarkar (1979, 1982 and 1986), Ravi Shastri (1990), Mohammed Azharuddin (1990), Sourav Ganguly (1996), Dravidians (1996), Dravidians (1202), Rahane (2014) and KL Rahul (2021). and 2025).