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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.

The Konkan Strongmen

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

The Konkan Strongmen

The Konkan region of coastal Maharashtra has resonated with one name for the past three decades now—Narayan Rane. Admiration, fear, awe, loyalty, anger—he’s evoked varied emotions in the people, depending which side you are on. He’s considered Sindhudurg as his fiefdom, winning six elections to the state legislature from Kudal since 1991. A resident of Chembur, Rane shot to prominence when his efforts at spreading the Shiv Sena’s presence was noticed by Bal Thackeray. He then contested elections to the municipal corporation and He won the elections to the state legislature in1991 from his hometown in Sindhudurg and was handpicked by Thackeray to replace Manohar Joshi as the chief minister of Maharashtra in 1999 although his term lasted for a mere nine months. Rane is as known for his administrative skills as he is derided for his strongarm politics.


Immensely loyal to the senior Thackeray who he considers his political guru, Rane quit the Shiv Sena in 2005 after a rift with Uddhav. Relations between them had started souring for a while before his exit. Since then, they’ve been bitter opponents, never missing an opportunity to trade barbs. Rane has changed three parties in his political career, each of different ideologies. After moving away from the Sena, he is believed to have weighed his options and joined the Congress on an assurance that he would be considered for the chief minister’s job. However, the post has, for long, evaded him.


In a surprise turn of events, Rane lost the 2014 elections from Kudal-Malvan, a constituency he had held for six terms, to the Sena’s Vaibhav Naik. He subsequently lost the by-elections to the Bandra East constituency the same year. But not one to be defeated, Rane worked his way into the BJP. His sons followed him across the three parties. In 2009, his older son Nilesh won the Parliamentary elections from Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg but couldn’t win an election after that. Younger  son Nitesh has been a member of the legislative assembly since 2014 from Kankavali and is aiming for a third term. The trio’s ability to sway votes towards the BJP in the Konkan area and their bitter attacks on the Thackerays have won them the favour of the state BJP. Over the years, the Rane politicians have won unflinching support of their loyalists and also the anger of the locals when Rane supported a controversial nuclear power project.


The 2024 Lok Sabha elections saw a change in Rane’s declining fortunes; in a closely fought election from the Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg seat, Rane won, defeating his opponent from the Uddhav Thackeray’s faction of the Shiv Sena. In the upcoming elections, Rane’s two sons are vying for seats from neighbouring constituencies.

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