Yastika Bhatia became the first woman to score a Test hundred at Lord’s.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
It was just one run. It was much more than one run.
Yastika Bhatia gently drove Issy Wong to extra cover, ran for a single, raised her fisted right hand. She then removed her helmet, kissed it, knelt down, kissed the ground, made a prayer looking towards the sun, and raised her bat. The crowd, not a particularly big one, applauded.
Yastika has played some gorgeous shots, for sixes and fours to all parts of a cricket ground, but this was one run she will never forget. It was the run that took her to the Lord’s honours board on Sunday.
The elegant left-hander from Vadodara became the first woman ever to make it to that prestigious board for scoring a Test hundred (113, 158b, 14×4). That was just a day after her teammate Kranti Gaud became the first woman to make it, for her five-wicket haul in the historic women’s Test at cricket’s most iconic venue.
This was Yastika’s day. She made it India’s day, too. It is very much India’s match now.
Harmanpreet Kaur’s women need to take just four more wickets. England, chasing an improbable 457, finished the third day at 130 for six.
India had declared at 341 for seven, and an early tea was taken.
Earlier, India resumed at 154 for one with the two stylish left-handers at the wicket. Smriti Mandhana (70, 130b, 9×4, 1×6), however, didn’t last long; she tried to glance Lauren Bell and was beautifully caught behind one-handed by a diving Amy Jones.
Bell, then, bowled Jemimah Rodrigues through the gate. Yastika, at the end, was looking sublime. That was after a bizarre start to the day, when Bell’s first ball hit Yastika’s off stump but the bails refused to budge. Off the next delivery, however, she scored a boundary through a flowing drive. She also pulled with panache, and stepped out with authority.
Richa Ghosh, the fellow wicketkeeper, then struck a 52-ball 50 not out (8×4) before India declared. Sophie Ecclestone also reserved a place on the honours board with figures of five for 118.
The English batters struggled against the sharp Indian attack yet again. The openers walked back towards Lord’s famous long room within three overs.
Then Kranti struck again. She accounted for Heather Knight, in her last Test innings, and Sneh Rana for Nat Sciver-Brunt.
Jones (52 batting, 72b, 6×4) and Mady Villiers (26) ensured there would after all be a fourth day with their sixth-wicket stand of 67.
Published – July 12, 2026 11:50 pm IST
