Yastika Bhatia made a remarkable return to international cricket, scoring a match-winning half-century against England in the first T20I at Chelmsford. The left-handed batter, who has been recovering from a knee injury sustained during a preparatory camp in early September last year, stroked a 40-ball 52 as India beat England by 38 runs.

After injuring her knee, Bhatia underwent ACL surgery in October last season. Having to spend time recovering from that, she even missed this year's Women's Premier League apart from other international and domestic games. Her last appearance for India had come in October 2024.

Speaking about her time away from the game, Bhatia said, "Those who undergo ACL surgery, the whole muscle of that leg goes away. We have to build everything from scratch. After the surgery, it was pretty tough to go through the rehab process. There were days when nothing was happening. No progress was visible. But because of the support, I kept on going, kept showing up and after months, I could see the improvements."

Terming her half-century as 'really special', Bhatia added, "I'm really grateful. I'm coming back after a long time and the team has welcomed me very nicely. It feels very good to be back. The injury time wasn't easy, but there were people backing me and supporting me."

"Behind the scenes, a lot of work has gone into coming back into the team. My family was very supportive during that time. The Centre of Excellence in Bangalore took care of me very well - the physios and trainers. I'm very thankful to them and even the surgeons who did my surgery. All the teammates and team management staff were in touch with me. All's well that ends well."

126-run partnership with Jemimah Rodrigues

The foundation of India's victory was built on the 126-run stand for the second wicket between Bhatia and Jemimah Rodrigues as the duo stroked their respective half-centuries after the visitors had lost both the openers cheaply in the opening over after being put in to bat.

Bhatia cut loose early, stroking three boundaries off Issy Wong in the second over of the innings to ensure India cashed in on the powerplay. She even took down Lauren Bell, Tilly Corteen-Coleman and Sophie Ecclestone, and raced away to 40 off 17 balls within the Powerplay, as India picked up 73 runs in this period.

Praising the contribution of her batting partner, Bhatia said, "She was always having a conversation. Even if I missed one or two balls, she would tell me 'No problem, Yasti. You are batting like a dream, just keep playing and you will get the gaps.' She was very mature. Later, she got those boundaries and that flow. The strike rate changed the momentum again in our favour."

Debutant pacer Shree Charani shines

Chasing 189 for victory, England were always on the backfoot. However, at the 14th over mark, placed at 101 for 2, with two set batters in the middle, a late assault was not out of the question. However, Shree Charani ended the third wicket alliance on 64, while Nandni Sharma dismissed Amy Jones, who had top-scored with 67.

The debutant pacer, who had been taken apart for 23 runs in her first two overs, returned for her next spell and scalped two wickets in two balls to crush England's hopes. She finished with figures of 3 for 43 - the second best figures by an Indian pacer on Women's T20I debut.

Bhatia lauded the performance of the pacer, and said, "She bowled beautifully. She came back well with her slower ones - that's her strength. She bowled to her strengths and got those wickets. In a debut game, it's exceptional."

"Nandni is a product of the WPL. It's good to see her come here and do so well. She was emotional. We all also felt emotional seeing her make her debut. It's good to see that she came well today. It's an exciting time for Indian cricket that whoever is coming to the XI is making a statement and making a contribution."