'My job was to apply the finishing touches': Cricketer Richa Ghosh

Mumbai: India's World Cup-winning team was built on trust and role clarity, feels dashing keeper-batter Richa Ghosh, who was assigned the finisher's role by head coach Amol Muzumdar.

Having missed at the final hurdle twice, India finally won their maiden World Cup title, defeating Laura Wolvaardt's South Africa by 52 runs in front of a sea of crowd in Navi Mumbai.

"My main job was to finish innings strongly by scoring quickly in the final overs," the 22-year-old said on JioStar's Follow The Blues.

"Whenever I got the chance to bat, my focus was on applying the finishing touches. I aimed to maintain a high strike-rate and put pressure on the opposition bowlers.

"Scoring those extra runs reduces the pressure on our team and gives us a better chance to win," added Richa who played a blistering 34 off 24 balls in the final batting at No 7 to lift India to 298/7. In reply, South Africa folded for 246.

She further credited head coach Amol Muzumdar for creating an environment where every player knew exactly what was expected of them.

"Amol sir made everyone’s role in the team very clear."

"For me, it was to play fearless cricket, look for the big shots and finish the innings strongly,” she said, adding that Muzumdar’s reassurance to "take time to settle in" gave her the confidence to back her strengths under pressure.

Richa, who often walked in during the final overs, said she had worked hard in the lead-up to the tournament to balance aggression with patience.

"Before the World Cup, I really focused on spending more time at the crease and building my innings. Whenever I got the chance to play, I concentrated on playing grounded shots and making sure I didn't throw my wicket away.

"For me, it was all about keeping the scoreboard ticking with singles and holding up one end. That’s what I worked on the most,” added Richa, who scored 235 runs from eight innings with one fifty finishing among the top-five run-getters for the team.

Her strike rate of 133.52 was the highest among Indians and she also equalled the record for the most sixes (12) in a single edition of the Women's World Cup joning West Indies power-hitter Deandra Dottin.

Richa's approach remained simple.

“My main job was to finish innings strongly by scoring quickly in the final overs. Whenever I got the chance to bat, my focus was on applying the finishing touches.

"I aimed to maintain a high strike-rate and put pressure on the opposition bowlers. Scoring those extra runs reduces the pressure on our team and gives us a better chance to win.”she said.

The daughter of an umpire, Richa's talent was spotted when she was just eight years old before she went on to make her domestic debut for Bengal under the legendary India pacer Jhulan Goswami.

"Jhulan didi has played a huge role in my journey. She’s always been there to guide me, even when I started playing for India. She taught me how to adapt my game to different situations and shared invaluable advice on improving as a player."

As the team erupted in joy after Harmanpreet Kaur's catch sealed the final, Richa said the feeling was "just incredible".

"We were so overwhelmed that we didn't even know how to celebrate! Harman didi was absolutely speechless, just pure joy. And when Deepti didi got that last wicket, even she couldn't process that we'd actually won the World Cup. We were all just living in that moment, soaking it all in before it even sank in."

The victory also unlocked a long-kept secret: their self-composed team song as they had a spontaneous rendition on the pitch that quickly went viral with the players singing and dancing with the World Cup Trophy at the centre of the pitch.

“We actually created our team song a few series ago. It was something we really wanted. But we made a pact to only sing it, and reveal it to the world after we lifted the World Cup trophy.

"Every player contributed to it in some way. So, the moment we won at the DY Patil Stadium, we just knew we had to sing it right there on the ground. It was a magical feeling,” she signed off.