‘Raman Effect’ makes big difference to Indian women's cricket team

No sooner had the head coach of the Indian women's cricket team WV Raman sat in his chair by the boundary line for a breather at the conclusion of a two-and-a-half-hour practice session on the eve of the final ODI against England on Wednesday than middle-order batter Mona Meshram came to him and said: "Thank you, sir".

Raman acknowledged but was left wondering what that was for as Meshram walked away to play footie with her team-mates.

Such has been Raman's nature of coaching over the years that he, as a matter of fact, talks to everyone without any reservation and even the smallest of things that would otherwise go unnoticed without the players even realising it, catches his sharp eyes. The 27-year-old middle-order batter from Nagpur was one such beneficiary to Raman's pep talks that would go a long way in making Meshram a better cricketer.

Raman has brought about a welcome change in the way the players approached their practice sessions. The team wind up their regular training drills with an engaging session on the field with one side of the net open. It includes a pair of batters taking throw-downs, either from Raman or fielding coach Biju George with the team-mates spread on the field inside the imaginary circle and the boundary line to throw themselves around like they would do in a match.

The players also have a spring in their steps in doing this drill and find it more interesting than the mundane fielding and catching sessions. For Raman, it is all about keeping things interesting.

The 53-year-old former left-handed batsman from Tamil Nadu may be new to women's cricket set up but he is not new to coaching national teams. Raman has just guided the team to its first ever ODI series win in New Zealand in only his first assignment with this team.

Few remember that Raman was coach of India under-19 led by Virat Kohli on the tour of South Africa just before the team's triumphant campaign in the junior World Cup in Malaysia in 2008, which was guided by Australian Dav Whatmore.

One of the sharpest cricketing brains in the country, Raman has made differences to the cricketers across age groups and the seniors that he was personally hired by Gautam Gambhir in his last phase of international career to rectify some technical flaws. Raman, until the latest role was the batting coach at the National Cricket Academy, also guided Prithvi Shaw's India U-19 to success in England in 2017 when Rahul Dravid was away on India 'A' assignment. In his last stint with the boys before the appointment with the Indian women's team, he guided the nation to the final of the Asian Cricket Council Emerging Teams Cup in Colombo in November-December 2018.

The women were quick to taken to Raman's style of coaching. Right from the world's leading batter Smriti Mandhana to left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht and medium-pacer Shikha Pandey, everyone has acknowledged the 'Raman Effect' in their game.

Bisht, after the first ODI, said: "Whenever Raman sir finds fault with us in the nets, he comes and rectifies our mistakes. He looks into minute details that we otherwise feel are not wrong. These points help us a lot. For example, I was going sideways earlier but he said not to keep body towards cover position but to keep straight."

Pandey, after her career-best 4/18 on Sunday, said: "There were a few technical issues that were brought to my notice by Raman sir. I was very surprised that I did not realise them. He has been that assuring face in the dressing room. He is someone who you can speak about bowling and he is always there with an opinion about it. Those minute things actually helped a lot."

On Wednesday, veteran bowler Jhulan Goswami spoke of the difference the former India opener has made to the unit. "He is such a great personality and has a lot of ideas. He understands the game very well. As a cricketer, whenever you play competitive sport, you have to do a little bit of adjustments here and there. So whatever he is telling us, it is working for us at the moment," Goswami said.

The only woman to take 200-plus ODI wickets added: "I discuss with him about the mental aspects of the game because he is watching from outside with a wider angle and we are inside the field. I discuss a lot about the mental process, how to prepare, how to become better and which areas to improve."

Goswami gave credit to Raman for making her a better batter since he has taken over. "Raman sir tells me that I have to work on my batting and that those runs are important. He says 'if you are not serious about your batting, it will be difficult'. From the first day, he has given me batting in the nets. There has not been one practice session where he has not given me batting. Thanks to him, he believed in my batting skills and I am just lucky enough."

Goswami and India are all set to make a clean sweep of a hapless England team in the third and final ODI here on Thursday. Having already clinched the series 2-0, successfully defending 202 in the first and chasing down 161 in the second with ease, a 3-0 result will give Raman a smile and the satisfaction of a job well done.

But as he will tell his team, 'what's done is done, there are fresh challenges ahead'. And one of them is the secure a 2021 Women's World Cup berth directly and not through qualification.

In that context, Thursday's final ODI will hold significance in that India will look for the crucial 2 points and not make the contest a dead rubber.