DRS July 13: Gautam Gambhir’s coaching staff could leave, McCullum ge…

While the men’s team suffered a demoralising 4-0 defeat in England, the women’s team is making the nation proud. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led India is on the verge of winning the first-ever women’s Test at Lord’s as they are crushing England. Yastika Bhatia stole the show on Sunday with her maiden hundred. Meanwhile, England’s favourite coach, Brendon McCullum, has parted ways with his role as the Test head coach. While there are discussions that RCB coach Andy Flower might replace him, it is a huge call by the ECB. Speaking about coaching, there’s a major shake-up likely to happen, with Gautam Gambhir’s coaching staff likely to bid adieu to a major figure.

India coach to say goodbye?

The BCCI is worried about losing two of Gautam Gambhir’s handpicked coaches after the England series. Assistant coaches Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel’s contracts end on July 19, and both are unsure about renewing. Doeschate has flagged the year-round travel and is reportedly in talks with an IPL franchise. Morkel is still deciding but finds the travel taxing. Both joined in July 2024 with Gambhir. With Abhishek Nayar already gone in January and fielding coach T. Dilip also expected to leave, the BCCI may have to rebuild the support staff before the Sri Lanka Tests in August. Lakshmipathy Balaji from the CoE is being considered to replace Morkel. VVS Laxman will go to Zimbabwe with the team next.

Yastika Bhatia show for India!

Yastika Bhatia made history at Lord’s. The 25-year-old scored 145 balls for her maiden Test hundred and became the first woman ever to score a Test century at the iconic ground. She looked calm throughout, hit 13 fours, and now has her first international ton across formats. It’s come at the perfect time too, after her spot was under question following a poor T20 World Cup 2026. She’s also the 11th Indian woman to score a Test century, joining names like Mithali Raj, Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma. Sandhya Agarwal still leads with 4. Yastika is the first Indian woman with a Test ton since 2024. Earlier, Kranti Gaud’s five-wicket haul made it an iconic day for India as well.

Why Samson over Sooryavanshi?

Shreyas Iyer explained why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dropped for Sanju Samson in the final T20I against England. With India already 0-3 down, the team wanted the best combination for Southampton conditions. Iyer said they needed a right-hander to partner Abhishek Sharma at the top, and with only one right-hander in the previous top eight, balance was off. He called Samson a “gun batsman” who has won games for India before. Sooryavanshi, 15, struggled against short balls earlier in the series and missed out despite the pitch being good for batting. Samson, meanwhile, failed again in his last chance. He isn’t part of the Zimbabwe tour either.

Latest on Cricket

• 
  DRS July 13: Gautam Gambhir’s coaching staff could leave, McCullum gets sacked & Yastika Bhatia makes history
• 
  Pick ‘Indian batters without heavy IPL make up’, Sanjay Manjrekar warns selectors
• 
  Team India sends Tammy Beaumont & Heather Knight into retirement with guard of honour

Brendon McCullum sacked?

Brendon McCullum’s time as England Test coach is over. The ECB confirmed on Sunday that he’s stepping down from the red-ball role, though he’ll continue with the white-ball teams. The move comes weeks after captain Ben Stokes announced his retirement following a nightclub incident that also ruled him out of the second Test vs New Zealand. With both gone, England’s Test setup has been blown up. McCullum was appointed in May 2022 with Stokes. “Bazball” gave England instant results, 11 wins in the first 13 Tests and a 3-0 sweep in Pakistan. Overall he finishes with 27 wins from 49 Tests at 55.10%. But it never worked against India or Australia, and the last 12 Tests brought only 3 wins. McCullum said he’s “gutted” but respects the decision, hinting it wasn’t fully his call.

Harshit Rana injured; Prince Yadav in ODIs

Harshit Rana is out again. The pacer picked up a Grade 1 hamstring injury during the Nottingham T20I on July 7 and has been ruled out of the England ODIs. He’ll report to the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru for rehab. Varun Chakaravarthy will also head home and miss the Zimbabwe tour. This is another setback for Rana, who only recently returned from knee surgery that made him miss the T20 World Cup 2026 and IPL 2026. Prince Yadav comes in as his replacement. He debuted in ODIs vs Afghanistan last month and played 4 games on the UK tour. He also has 3 T20I wickets vs Ireland. Now he gets another shot to stake a claim in 50-over cricket.

Heather Knight retires as well

Heather Knight has called time on her England career after the one-off Test against India at Lord’s. She joins teammate Tammy Beaumont in retiring, ending a 16 year run that started when she debuted in 2010 aged 18. Knight captained England 199 times and led them to the 2017 ODI World Cup title. She played over 320 internationals, the most for England, and is third on their all time run charts in both ODIs and T20Is. She said she’s grateful for the dressing room and thanked teammates, coaches and medical staff. India gave her a guard of honour in her final knock.

The post DRS July 13: Gautam Gambhir’s coaching staff could leave, McCullum gets sacked & Yastika Bhatia makes history appeared first on Inside Sport India.

India wicketkeeper-batter Yastika Bhatia believes her “best is yet to come" after she became the first woman cricketer to hit a Test century at the iconic Lord’s stadium, marking an incredible comeback from a career-threatening knee injury last year.

Bhatia struck 113 off 158 before India declared their second innings at the stroke of tea on day three, setting hosts England a massive 457-run target.

“It’s unbelievable (to become first woman cricketer to score a 100 at Lord’s) because six months ago I was in a very different place and if you would have told me that I would have my name in the honours board I wouldn’t have believed it," Bhatia said after the third day’s play.

“The best is yet come, I have always believed that. But so far it’s really good and I enjoyed my time in the middle. It’s just the beginning, a lot more to come and I am looking forward to that," he added.

She credited her family, teammates and support staff for helping her recover from the career-threatening torn ACL in her left knee that she sustained in October last year. The injury, which needed a surgery, prevented her from competing in India’s ODI World Cup-winning campaign at home.

“A lot of people have been working behind the scenes, my family, my father, mother, my sister they have been the biggest backbone, support. My coaches, trainers back home, the support staff and teammates here, they have backed me.

“Also COE (BCCI’s Centre of Excellence) where I underwent rehab. All of them played a crucial role, it wouldn’t have been possible without them," she said.

Recollecting the tough phase during her recovery period, Bhatia said her love for the game kept her in a positive frame of mind.

“I started from scratch after the surgery. For two months I was in total rest, all muscles of my left leg were lost in that two months, so after that I had to start from scratch.

“Rehab process began after that and slowly, progress happened. So it was frustrating also, missing out on big tournaments and just doing rehab…but at the same time I had belief in myself that I can comeback from this injury," the 25-year-old left-handed batter said.

“People around me also helped me in keeping a positive frame of mind. Whatever setbacks you have but the love for the game and belief in yourself that’s very crucial to make a comeback from rock bottom," she added.

She said she never thought about a century and her only focus was on helping the team win the match.

“I didn’t think of my 100 or anything but on posting a big score at a good rate, so that we have good time to take their 10 wickets, that was in my mind. I always play best when I play for the team. Playing for the country is a matter of big pride for me," she said.

“I was given a clear message play according to the ball, there was no rush from the dressing room, no extra pressure, they were like ‘play whatever you feel best’. The ball was coming better on the bat so I was trying little more and also with wickets in hand, we were in good position," Bhatia added.

London [UK], July 13 (ANI): India batter Yastika Bhatia became the first-ever woman cricketer to score a Test century at Lord’s, producing a memorable 113 against England to etch her name on the iconic honours board and add another glorious chapter to Indian cricket’s rich history at the ‘Home of Cricket’.

The left-hander’s landmark knock came in India’s second innings of the one-off Test, making her the first woman to register a century at Lord’s since women’s Test cricket began at the historic venue. In the process, Bhatia joined an elite list of 13 Indian batters that includes Vinoo Mankad, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane, all of whom have scored Test hundreds at Lord’s.

Resuming her innings on 39 not out on Day 3 of the one-off Test match, Bhatia batted with remarkable composure and fluency. She reached her maiden Test century off 145 deliveries with a classy drive through extra cover and celebrated the milestone with an emotional punch of the air.

Her innings of 113 featured 14 boundaries before she was caught at extra cover while attempting to loft England spinner Sophie Ecclestone. As she walked back, Bhatia received a standing ovation from spectators and members of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), while several England players applauded her historic effort.

Bhatia’s century capped an impressive comeback tour after returning to international cricket earlier this year following knee surgery. She had begun the England tour with a half-century in the opening T20I before finishing it with the biggest innings of her Test career.

India’s commanding second-innings total was also built around useful contributions from Smriti Mandhana (70) and Richa Ghosh, whose unbeaten 50 helped the visitors declare on 341/7 and set England a daunting target of 457.

Earlier in the match, India pacer Kranti Gaud had become the first woman cricketer to feature on the Lord’s honours board for a Test five-wicket haul after claiming outstanding figures of 5/37 in England’s first innings.

England spinner Sophie Ecclestone also entered the honours board after returning figures of 5/118 in India’s second innings, becoming the first England woman to register a Test five-wicket haul at Lord’s. She finished with eight wickets in the match after bowling 55.2 overs.

By stumps on Day 3, England were reeling at 130/6, still needing 327 runs with only four wickets in hand, leaving India on the verge of a famous victory. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Jannik Sinner secured his second consecutive Wimbledon title after defeating Alexander Zverev in the final. Zverev humorously acknowledged his losing streak against Sinner during the trophy ceremony. Sinner's victory marked his fifth Grand Slam title and a strong comeback performance. Despite his loss, Zverev will ascend to world number two in the rankings. Carlos Alcaraz dropped in rankings due to injury absence from tournaments.