Amritsar: Abhishek Sharma, Sneh Rana toast of the town after hurricane hundred, 10-wicket haul
Neeraj Bagga
Amritsar, July 9
Cricket fans in the holy city are overjoyed after two of its residents, both promising youngsters, Abhishek Sharma and Sneh Rana, made waves in international cricket.
Making his international appearance in a dramatic fashion in a T20 cricket match in Zimbabwe, Abhishek hit a 47-ball century after being out for a duck in the first match. His century took India to 234 for two before the visitors bundled out the hosts for a paltry 134 in 18.4 overs to register a whopping 100-run win in the match played on Sunday.
After hitting a 47-ball ton, the young batsman Abhishek Sharma said he kept his belief in his hitting ability despite getting out for a duck in his international debut match on July 6.
Considered a hard-hitting lower-order batsman who also chips in as a left-arm spinner, he guided India to victory in the Under-19 Asia Cup in 2016 and has a World Cup to his name as an Under-19 cricketer. As a young cricket star, he was part of the Indian squad for the ICC World Cup.
He came to limelight with a century while making his U-19 debut for Punjab in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. He had already shared his dream with the media — to make it to the senior squad — for which he has been making giant strides.
He was trained by his childhood idol Yuvraj Singh whom he saw batting on screen while growing up and adored his style. Earlier in 2022, he was picked up by Sunrisers Hyderabad at a record price of Rs 6.50 crore.
Amritsar Games Association president and Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori congratulated Abhishek Sharma on the achievement. He said it was a matter of pride that a local youngster and a player of the Amritsar Games Association (AGA), had got a place in world cricket. He expressed the hope that Abhishek would bring fame to the district and Punjab with his performance.
For local cricket lovers, one more reason to cheer is Sneh Rana, an all-rounder in the Indian women’s cricket team. She created a record by taking 10 wickets in the Test match against South African women’s team in Chennai recently. A spin bowler, she deftly captured eight wickets in the first innings and scalped two more in the second. The feat earned her the Player of the Match award.
Her two second innings wickets made her only the second Indian woman to claim a 10-wicket haul in Test matches. Earlier, pace bowler Jhulan Goswami had taken 10 wickets for 78 runs against England in the 2006 Test.
Working as a Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) at the Amritsar railway station, the 30-year-old all-rounder has been a part of the Indian women’s cricket team for the past many years. An off-spinner, Rana also chips in with the bat as well.
She was drafted into the national team to play against Sri Lanka in 2014. However, a knee injury in 2016 put a brake on her career as she was not included in the national squad for the next five years. It was only in 2021 that the BCCI included her in India’s Test squad against England. It also marked her Test debut.
