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'She has a fearless attitude and all the shots in the book. The only change we made here was to make her take up leg spin from pace.'
Gongadi Trisha sitting on her father's lap with wide eyes, when the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni smashed a six to seal India's World Cup triumph in 2011. It's her earliest cricketing memory.
Now, 14 years down the road, the 19-year-old has two World Cups in her cabinet, just like her idol.
The latest addition came on Sunday when India outclassed South Africa by nine wickets to win the ICC Women's Under-19 T20 World Cup at Kuala Lumpur.
She was also a part of India's title run in the inaugural edition in 2023. But in this iteration Trisha was even more effective, scoring 309 runs at an average of 77.25, with a hundred. That also earned her the ‘Player of the Tournament’ award.
Apart from being the highest run-getter in the tournament, Trisha also chipped in with seven wickets with her handy leg spin.
Trisha was understandably elated.
"It means everything. I have no words to say. I would like to dedicate this to my father (G Rami Reddy) because he is here. I don't think I would be here without him," Trisha told the ICC.
"I want to play for my country and win more matches. Winning this (Under-19 World Cup) again is simply superb," she added.
Trisha also registered a slew of records in the tournament -- the first century in Under-19 women's World Cup history, the second-best batting average of the event, most fours and the second-most sixes in the showpiece.
For P Srinivas, her coach at the St John's Coaching Foundation, it is just the beginning.
"She has a fearless attitude and all the shots in the book. The only change we made here was to make her take up leg spin from pace," said Srinivas, who took Trisha under his wings once she moved to Hyderabad from native Bhadrachalam.
St John's is the alma mater of greats like VVS Laxman and Mithali Raj, and Srinivas is confident that Trisha too has the ability to scale heights like the aforementioned names.
"Let's be patient with her. She is just 19 and has a lot of cricket in her. She is a humble person too, and I am sure she is going to bring many honours to the country," he said.
Trisha may have been slightly disappointed when she went unsold in the Women's Premier League (WPL) auction last year. But now, a smile is firmly back on her face and there’s hope in her heart.