Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s Trisha Gongadi was on fire on Tuesday. She drove, pulled, punched and cut the cricket ball and Scotland to record a stunning century, the first ever in Women’s Under 19 T20 World Cup history.
Opening the batting for India at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Trisha battered the rivals to smash an unbeaten 110 in 59 balls, 13 of which sped to the boundary and four flew past it. The knock powered the national side to a robust 208 for 1. She then sent down dizzying leg-spin to claim three wickets while conceding just six runs in two overs to bowl the Scots out for 58 and script a 150-run victory in the Super Six group stage match.
The 19-year-old’s achievement has got Hyderabad cricket circles buzzing, with adjectives overflowing. “Outstanding,” is how her coach John Manoj described the feat. “Trisha has always shown promise and is set for many more records. She will definitely go places,” he added.
Her father and backbone Rami Reddy was understandably overjoyed. “It’s a fantastic feeling to see her achieve this feat. I was at the ground watching her bat and the sort of strokes she executed, especially the powerful hits over the cover region, were a treat,” he said speaking to this newspaper from Malaysia.
“It’s her hard work that has paid off — Trisha practises eight hours-a-day. I used to make entries in my diary and ensure she played 130 matches in a year to get the maximum game time,” he added.
Born in Bhadrachalam (Kothagudem district, Telangana) Trisha moved to Hyderabad in search of better opportunities to play cricket. Rami Reddy quit his job in a private company to devote his time to making his daughter an international cricketer. “Trisha was 10 when her father brought her to the Coaching Beyond academy in West Marredpally, Secunderabad. We could clearly see the potential in her... and Rami Reddy was totally focussed on his child,” John recalls.
Soon, she improved in leaps and bounds, making the Hyderabad Women’s Under 19 and Under 23 sides when she was only 13. Trisha then dished out powerful performances in the domestic circuit to make the national sides. She was part of the U-19 World Cup winning Indian team in 2023 and was adjudged Player of the Tournament at the U-19 Asia Cup which India won last month.
“Let’s hope she brings the World Cup home again,” John quipped.
During his career, Trisha also spent time tuning up her game at the Iqbal Cricket Academy in Yapral. Coach Iqbal had high praise for her. “Trisha is hard-working, talented and has a very bright future,” he said.
