Punam, Harmanpreet and others were railway employees before cricket stars

Before Punam, Harmanpreet, Rajeshwari, Veda and Nuzhat became stars, they toiled at the WR ground in Mahalaxmi to become world beaters

Harmanpreet Kaur during her unbeaten 171 against Australia in the Women’s World Cup semi-final in Derby recently. Pic/Getty Images

Long before they became India stars, five girls — Punam Raut, Harmanpreet Kaur, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Veda Krishanmurthy and Nuzhat Parween toiled day in and out at the Western Railway ground in Mahalaxmi, Mumbai.

Though Punam is the only Mumbai girl, the other four are also posted here as employees of Western Railway. Under the watchful eyes of Western Railway coach Prasad Patil, they trained for the inter-railway competition before the World Cup at the MCA-BKC ground.

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Patil recalled how these girls worked hard to prepare for the inter-railway event which they won at Allahabad in April. "Despite playing the Big Bash in Australia, Harmanpreet was very humble and worked hard on her fitness and fielding drills. What I noticed during our practice sessions was that every girl approached the game differently. They focused on attaining their individual goals and developed their individual skills. For example, Harmanpreet always focused on building strength and maintaining her flexibility by doing specific exercises apart from her regular net sessions," Patil told mid-day yesterday. Now you know why she could hit those big sixes, seven in all, during her 115-ball unbeaten 171 in the semi-final against Australia recently.

Former India wicketkeeper-batswoman Anagha Deshpande, an integral part of the WR team, said: "All our current WR team members are India cricketers and we all stayed in the dormitory of the Western Railway ground during our camps."

Talking about their preparation for the mega event, Deshpande said: "They started their preparations for the World Cup even while they were part of our training camps and played domestic tournaments. They used to put a lot of emphasis on fitness, gym sessions and rectifying their technique.

"It is quite disappointing to lose in the final by such a small margin. Had we won, it would have made a huge impact on women's cricket in India," she added.

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