This women cricket team is tenacious: Former coach Purnima Rau

BENGALURU: As Mithali Raj and her girls battled for the World Cup honour at Lord's, Purnima Rau - former India skipper and coach of the team until two months before the premier event - watched the proceedings on television at her farmhouse some 45 kms from Hyderabad. The 50-year-old was a bundle of nerves as she analysed every move of her girls, let out a cry of despair at Mithali Raj's run out and cheered every boundary scored.
Purnima was first appointed in February 2014 and sacked after the first round exit at the World T20 that year only to be brought back in June 2015 with the World Cup in sight.She was replaced with Tushar Arothe in April this year.
Having been with the team for the 22 of the 24 months preparations, Purnima said she was always confident of the team scripting a success story in England.

Speaking to TOI on what went into making of this team, Purnima said, "When I first took over in 2014, I felt Mithali (Raj) was overburdened as a batsman because the team depended on her heavily to put runs on the board. It became essential to build a group of confident batsmen around her. One of 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 match es. When targets were set, game plans became clearer and they started putting plans in place."
Purnima also used golf as a means to ensure their built on power and strength.
Pur nima added that along the way, the bowlers too gained in confidence.
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 the each of the girls will cherish for life."