Mumbai: Yastika Bhatia’s century at Lord’s on Sunday was a milestone in Indian women’s cricket, but for her family it was also the end of a difficult time. The 25-year-old wicketkeeper became the first woman to score a Test hundred at Lord’s, making 113 from 158 balls with 14 fours on Day Three of the first women’s Test at the “Home of Cricket” against England.Her father, Harish Bhatia, said the innings was the result of months of hard work after a knee injury ruled Yastika out of the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup and kept her out of cricket for six months after undergoing ACL surgery in October.Speaking to TOI from Baroda, Harish recalled an incident at the Indian women’s team camp in Visakhapatnam last September that showed Yastika’s bond with her teammates.“All his friends were crying when Yastika was injured. They didn’t let him carry his bags as he was hurt, and he did the work for him. It was very nice of them. Later, they all looked at him when he was rehabilitated at the BCCI’s Center of Excellence in Bengaluru. They told him: ‘Get it,’ and soon we are waiting for Yancoura. messages. Today, I want to thank all my Indian teammates for supporting this role,” Harish Bhatia told TOI from Baroda.Harish said the injury left Yastika frustrated as he wanted to help India in the ODI World Cup, but he quickly changed his mind and returned to international cricket.“Yastika was really down after the injury, because she wanted to help India win the ODI World Cup last year. However, she wanted India to win the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, and she told me, ‘Dad, I will help India win the T20 World Cup.’ “Unfortunately, it’s not going to happen, but he has scored a century at Lord’s now,” said Harish.He credited former Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More, who has coached Yastika for many years, for helping him during his recovery and preparing him for the England tour.“Yastika worked very hard to prepare for this trip. Credit goes to Kiran More, who has been like a father figure to her, guiding her every step of the way. He has been telling her: ‘Yastika, you are my best student.’ When he was injured, he encouraged him, telling him: ‘This time will end. There are only six months left.’ Boss Kiran will train him for hours together, wicketkeeping and batting. Yastika is also very hardworking and disciplined. I have never seen him miss a single lesson. When we bought a new house at Kanali in Vadodara, he was present at the ‘Griha Pravesh,’ which we did on his birthday on Nov 1, but after that, he was not there, as he was renovating at the CoE and at that time he was with the Indian team,” said Harish Bhatia.He also thanked the people who helped him to come back.“I want to thank all her coaches and trainers, who helped her get fit again, at the CoE and Baroda, BCCI, appointed by the head coach of the Indian women’s team Amol Muzumdar for showing faith in her ability despite her ACL injury,” he added.More said Yastika’s age was a reward for her perseverance after facing injuries and setbacks.“It was a good 100 years, he played very well. He is always very talented, but he has struggled with injuries, and he has been knocked down a lot in the past. However, Yastika has now proved her worth with her unique tone in the Lord’s trials,” More told TOI.Lord’s century followed another early contribution on the England tour, with Yastika scoring a match-winning 54 off 40 balls in the first T20I at Chelmsford. Before that, she managed just 41 runs in four matches at an average of 13.66 runs in the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup, where India were knocked out of the league.Former India captain Diana Edulji believes that the innings can change Yastika’s life.“It was a fantastic century. I believe this is the turning point of Yastika’s career. He should stay injury-free from now on and focus on being consistent,” Edulji told TOI.With his century, Yastika also entered the top list of Indian batsmen with Test centuries 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), Ajit Agarkar (2001), Ajit Agarkar (2001), Dr. Rahane (2014) and KL Rahul (2021). 2025).