The Third Edit on India’s U-19 World Cup win: Playing like her
India’s U19 World Cup cricket triumph brings a dash of optimism to women’s cricket. By drubbing South Africa in the finals, the Indian team displayed an infectious ambition, dominating the tournament. It augurs well for the future of women’s cricket in India. Though Australia, England and New Zealand barely take juniors cricket seriously, the Indian U19 triumph will ignite hopes of a seniors trophy. It can safely be said that India has unearthed a superstar talent in Gongadi Trisha, an all-rounder and prolific batter from the World Cup.
Trisha set the batting charts on fire, scoring the only century of the tournament and notching consistent scores, four of the highest innings from the Top 15. But cricket triumphs are always team efforts and India can be said to have located other stars like batter and compulsive boundary-hitter Kamalini, and bowlers Vaishnavi Sharma and Aayushi Shukla. Trisha, though, remains the story of the tournament. The youngster from Hyderabad was given a plastic bat at age two by her father and raised to become a formidable cricketer, skilling her to hit sixes, score mountains of runs and take crucial wickets.
Women’s cricket in India has earned its rightful privileges — equal match fee, a cash-rich franchise league, and a broad-based, even if rudimentary, domestic set-up, where new names are cropping up who could become India’s future post Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana, who have carried the burden for the last few years after Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. The spot belonging to Shafali Verma, part of a project of regeneration of women’s cricket, has many more contenders now like Pratika Rawal, and Trisha will begin pushing for the opening position soon. Women’s cricket is seeing aspiration meet a nurturing system. With franchise facilities and local academies mushrooming for girls, the future can only be bright. Beating Australia to a seniors crown remains the final frontier for Indian women. Trisha & Co showed that that too can be done.