New Delhi: Born and brought up near the slums of Kumaon region of the Uttarakhand state, life became merrier for 18-year-old cricketer Neelam Bharadwaj on Tuesday after she became the youngest Indian woman to smash a double century in List A cricket. Neelam becomes the second double centurion in India women’s List A matches. Playing cricket since childhood, life wasn’t so easy for Neelam as she had to navigate through a lot of struggles to be where she is today.
Relentless passion and an undying spirit of making it big in the world of cricket is something Neelam has been living with since a kid. On Tuesday, the talented right-handed batter smashed an unbeaten knock of 202 run in just 137 deliveries in Uttarakhand’s remarkable victory over Nagaland in the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy match in Ahmedabad. Her stupendous knock was not only praised by her team members but the entire cricketing fraternity applauded the young girl for this miraculous milestone.
💯 Double Century Alert 💯
18-year-old Neelam Bhardwaj becomes the second Indian to score a List A double after Shweta Sehrawat. 💪🏽#SWOneDay pic.twitter.com/N9hGeuKYK4
— Women’s CricZone (@WomensCricZone) December 10, 2024
Neelam’s batting prowess enroute her double ton
This was not an ordinary double century as the stylish batter stood tall on the field for her side achieving the miraculous record at an impressive strike rate of 147.45, taking just 137 balls to reach the double-figure mark. Enroute the 202-run knock, Neelam smashed as many as 27 boundaries and 2 massive sixes as Uttarakhand posted a mammoth 371/2 in the stipulated 50 overs, with the 18-year-old being the major contributor.
Her innings which led to the side scoring a massive total terrified oppositions Nagaland so much that the team folded for a paltry 112-run score, giving Uttarakhand a big 259-run victory. Ekta Bisht was the other notable contributor with the ball as she claimed a fifer for the winning side. Earlier in 2024, Shweta Sehrawat became the first double centurion in Indian women’s List A matches after she smashed a powerful knock of 242 off 150 deliveries for Delhi against Nagaland. Former Indian skipper Mithali Raj and Smriti Mandhana have also hit double centuries.
Neelam Bharadwaj, 18, on Tuesday, became the youngest Indian woman to smash a double century in List A cricket. Shweta Sehrawat is the first double centurion in Indian women’s List A matches. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
