London, July 12 (IANS) India wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia scripted history on Sunday by becoming the first woman cricketer to score a Test century at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground. The landmark achievement came on day three of India’s ongoing one-off Test match against England.

Yastika showed immense grit and elegance in stroke-play to reach her maiden international century off 145 balls, a knock studded with 12 boundaries. The Baroda-born cricketer, who overcame a career-threatening Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury and marked her return to international cricket on the ongoing trip to England, reached the milestone in style during the afternoon session.

Having gone into the lunch break on 91, Yastika showed no signs of nervous nineties when the post-lunch session resumed. She smashed consecutive boundaries off England pacer Issy Wong through the backward point region before taking a single to cover to seal her place on the hallowed Honours Board at Lord’s.

Yastika did have a slice of luck early in the morning when the very first delivery of the day from Lauren Bell clipped her off-stump but failed to dislodge the bails. Capitalising on the reprieve, Yastika played a dynamic yet structured innings, targeting the straight boundary and cover region heavily for her runs.

Upon reaching the historic century, an emotional Yastika dropped to her knees to kiss the turf at the ‘Home of Cricket,’ as the crowd stood up to give her a standing ovation. Yastika joins her teammate Kranti Gaud on the Lord’s Honours Board for this match.

Kranti had earned her spot earlier in the game by picking a brilliant five-wicket haul on day two’s play. Former Australia cricketer Mel Jones said on-air, “The fist goes up in the air as Bhatia, from Baroda to Lord’s, can soak in this monumental occasion. A century at Lord’s, on to the honours board and a moment she will never, ever forget.”

–IANS

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