It was a dramatic comeback by hosts England against the Indian Women at Lord’s on Sunday which saw them lifting their 4th World Cup title.
It was a match worthy of a final and in the end, Anya Shrubsole produced a magical spell which halted India’s progress. As the Mithali Raj led Indian side was fighting it out, Purnima Rau-the former coach of the national team until two months before the mega event was in high spirits watching the match at her farmhouse around 45 kilometres away from Hyderabad.
Punam tried to analyse each and every step of the Indian team, cried when Mithali Raj was run out and applauded all the boundaries smashed by the Indian batswomen. Purnima was appointed the coach on 2014 and after a first round exit in the World T20 that year she was sacked but was brought back in June 2015 with the World Cup in sight. Tushar Arothe replaced her as the coach in April this year.
Purnima was with the team for 22 out of the 24 months which saw India gearing up for the World Cup and she was confident of India scripting a success story in England. India defeated top notch teams like England, New Zealand and Australia to qualify for the finals but just when it mattered the most, the Indian girls succumbed to the pressure and allowed England to claw their way back into the match.
During her interaction with the Times of India on what went into the making of this team, Purnima said,
“When I first took over in 2014, I felt Mithali (Raj) was overburdened as a batter because the team depended on her heavily to put runs on the board. It became essential to build a group of confident batters around her. One of the things we did back then to improve the game and confidence level of the batting line-up was to start chasing when we won the toss during matches. When targets were set, game plans became clearer and they started putting plans in place.”
Purnima added that she used golf as a mean to increase the body power of the cricketers. Speaking on the USP of the team, Purnima commented,
“This team is tenacious and that’s what keeps them going. Over a period of time, they have learnt to deal with setbacks even during matches. This English summer is something each of the girls will cherish for life.”