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By:

Kiran D. Tare

21 August 2024 at 11:23:13 am

The Lady of Lord’s

Yastika Bhatia’s maiden Test century at Lord’s crowns the rise of an elegant wicketkeeper-batter who has quietly become indispensable to India’s new generation. Critics may say that there are flashier cricketers than Yastika Bhatia. She does not possess the raw power of a Smriti Mandhana or the aura of a Harmanpreet Kaur. She rarely dominates highlight reels or social media clips. Instead, she has built her reputation through reliability – a quality far more vital. At a time when white-ball...

The Lady of Lord’s

Yastika Bhatia’s maiden Test century at Lord’s crowns the rise of an elegant wicketkeeper-batter who has quietly become indispensable to India’s new generation. Critics may say that there are flashier cricketers than Yastika Bhatia. She does not possess the raw power of a Smriti Mandhana or the aura of a Harmanpreet Kaur. She rarely dominates highlight reels or social media clips. Instead, she has built her reputation through reliability – a quality far more vital. At a time when white-ball cricket prizes spectacle, the 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has become one of India’s finest practitioners of the understated virtues of timing, patience and composure. Bhatia’s 113 against England which powered the Indian women’s side to a historic win at Lord’s was not merely her maiden Test century but the first ever scored by a woman at cricket’s most celebrated venue. The innings helped India seal a comprehensive 270-run victory in the first women’s Test ever staged at Lord’s. Her hundred earned her a place on the Lord’s honours board, where generations of the game’s greatest names have been immortalised. Few entries have carried quite the same symbolism. Until now, no woman’s name had appeared there for a Test century because no women’s Test had ever been played at the ground. Bhatia’s career has mirrored the evolution of Indian women’s cricket itself. Born in Vadodara, she emerged through Gujarat’s domestic circuit at a time when opportunities for young women were expanding but remained far from abundant. A naturally gifted left-hander, she impressed selectors with a technique that appeared more classical than contemporary. Where modern batting often relies on innovation and improvisation, Bhatia’s game is rooted in balance. She plays late, favours placement over power and rarely appears rushed. Such attributes explain why coaches have long regarded her as especially suited to the demands of Test cricket, even though women are offered precious few opportunities to play the format. Modern wicketkeepers are expected to contribute almost as specialist batters while maintaining relentless concentration over long periods. Bhatia has embraced both responsibilities, becoming an important cog in an Indian side that has steadily shed its dependence on a handful of senior stars. That transformation has accelerated dramatically over the past year. India’s maiden Women’s ODI World Cup triumph marked a watershed for the sport, confirming that the country's women could finally translate promise into silverware. Although Bhatia missed that campaign after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly before the tournament, her absence perhaps underscored her growing importance. Months of rehabilitation restored her confidence. If the World Cup represented the one that got away, Lord’s offered redemption. Returning to international cricket only recently, Bhatia produced an innings of remarkable maturity against England’s experienced attack. Her 113 came from 158 balls, balancing restraint with authority as India tightened their grip on the match. She admitted that six months earlier, while beginning rehabilitation, the idea of seeing her name on the Lord’s honours board would have seemed implausible. Those who know her were scarcely surprised. Former Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More, who has mentored Bhatia, has long spoken of her temperament rather than merely her talent. Scoring a century at Lord’s, he observed, is an ambition shared by virtually every cricketer. Achieving it after months away from the game simply reflected the resilience that had always underpinned her cricket. But hers was not a sentimental century assembled through fortune. It was a technically accomplished performance built on judgement outside off stump, crisp drives through the covers and the patience required by the longest format. It showcased precisely why Test cricket continues to matter. Unlike Twenty20, where brilliance can be compressed into a handful of overs, the five-day game rewards concentration accumulated over hours. For Indian women’s cricket, Bhatia’s century represents something larger than an individual milestone. It demonstrates the increasing depth of a side that is no longer defined solely by its biggest names. New heroes are emerging, backed by stronger domestic structures, better coaching and a professionalism unimaginable a decade ago. The honours board at Lord’s records statistics with characteristic restraint. It simply notes that Yastika Bhatia scored a century. Future generations may glance at the name without appreciating the path that led there. But Indian cricket will remember that the first woman to reach three figures at Lord’s was not merely making history. She was announcing that a new generation has arrived.

MNS helped UBT win half of its total tally

Updated: Nov 29, 2024

MNS

Mumbai: Though Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) had not supported the Mahayuti in assembly election, unlike they did in the Lok Sabha, Raj Thackeray had asserted that the party shall be part of the government if Mahayuti returns to power in the state. However, while the party couldn’t get any of its candidate elected, it seems that their presence has actually helped the Shiv Sena (UBT) win at least half of their seats. This has further reduced the chances of MNS getting any share of power in the state government now.


A closer look at the votes polled by the MNS shows that it has helped the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidates at least on 10 seats where the MNS candidates remained in the third position and Mahayuti candidates lost the seat by margins lower than the votes polled by the MNS candidates. Vikroli, Kogeshwari East, Dindoshi, Kalina, Vandre East, Mahim and Worli are the seven out of these 10 constituencies where the UBT clearly seems to have gained sufficient margin to win the seats because of the MNS candidates.


One can look at the most spectacular triangular contest in Mumbai that took place in the Worli constituency. Shiv Sena (UBT) scion Aditya Thackeray who fetched 63,324 votes defeated Milind Deora of Shiv Sena by 8801 votes. Deora got 54,523 votes while the third candidate Sandeep Deshpande of the MNS fetched 19,367 votes.


Deora said that all efforts were made to turn the MNS to its favour. “We were in touch with them. We even met some of their demands. But, after a limit they started becoming impracticable and it wasn’t possible to meet all their demands. We knew that it was not their purpose, yet, they became the ‘B’ team of Shiv Sena (UBT),” he added.


In Dindoshi Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Nirupam lost by 6182 votes to Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Sunil Prabhu, where the MNS candidate fetched 20,309 votes. Data like this further strengthens the ‘B’-team rhetoric. While reacting to the results Nirupam Said, “In 2009 people felt that the MNS was eating up the Shiv Sena votes which benefitted the Congress. However, at least on seven seats in Mumbai, the MNS grabbed Marathi votes and in turn helped the Shiv Sena (UBT). We realized this during the campaign. But, by then it was too late to rectify that.”


Raj Thackeray’s son Amit stood third in the bastion of undivided Shiv Sena – Mahim. This is the home constituency of Raj Thackeray. In the triangular contest between MNS’ Amit, Shiv Sena’s Sada Sarvankar and UBT’s Mahesh Sawant in this constituency Sawant won by 1316 votes while Amit could fetch only 17,151 votes.


Interestingly, the MNS had not fielded any candidate in any of the 16 constituencies where Congress won or the 10 constituencies where NCP-SP won. This clearly indicates that though MNS had vouched support to the Mahayuti, they were actually helping the MVA. However, the voters in the state rejected them. The MNS could gather only about 1.8 percent votes in the state even though they had contested 125 seats. This is likely to affect the party’s status and may also lead them in losing their party symbol.

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