Scoring a triple ton in any form of cricket is a great feat for it needs loads of concentration, patience and resolve to reach the milestone. It was moment to cherish for the Andhra cricket administrators for two of its youngsters – a boy and girl - , who scored a triple ton each in two different tournaments at two different venues on Saturday.
Twelve-year-old Sk. Rasheed of Guntur scored an unbeaten 300 in the under-14 ACA Plate Group match against Srikakulam at Anantapur, while Harika Yadav, a Srikakulam teenager, piled up 308 against West Godavari as an opener in the ACA under-19 North Zone women limited-over tournament at Vizianagaram.
In fact, Harika, who represented the State team last year, created a record by emerging as the first Andhra woman cricketer to achieve the feat of scoring a triple ton. Rasheed joined Robert Sailesh (under-12) and Jasti Sreekanth (under-17) who scored triple centuries in inter -district matches during mid 80s.
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Overwhelmed with the performances, ACA secretary Gokaraju Ganga Raju announced a cash award of Rs. 10,000 each for both the players as a token of appreciation.
Harika took advantage of the sloppy fielding and made good of the dropped catches to take the rival bowling by its scruff. “She took 154 balls and sent the leather past the boundary line 63 times,” says ACA director M.S.K. Prasad.
Scoring hundreds is nothing new for Sk. Rasheed for he had already smacked two back-to-back hundreds in an under-16 inter-district match recently. Most of the runs at Anantapur came in the cover region and he exhibited a good number of cut and sweep shots with aplomb.
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“This gutsy Guntur lad has a cricketing brain. He knows how to build an innings and has repertoire of strokes on both sides of the wicket. He comes in the middle order,” says Nirmal, who coaches the boy Mangalagiri academy. Rasheed joined the academy in 2014 and was quick to learn the intricacies of the game. “He is technically sound and has the aptitude to stay in the middle for longer duration. That he is already in the probables of the State under-16 team speaks volumes about his innate talent,” says coach Nirmal.
Rasheed is technically sound and he has the aptitude to stay in middle for longer duration
Nirmal,
Coach of Rasheed
Hariha took 154 balls and sent the leather past the boundary line 63 times
M.S.K. Prasad,
ACA director
12-year-old Sk. Rasheed scores an unbeaten 300 in the under-14 ACA Plate Group match, while Harika Yadav hits 308 in the ACA under-19 North Zone women tournament