There was nothing conspicuously remarkable about Richa Ghosh’s arrival in the City of Joy as a Bengal Under-19 rookie in 2014.

There was a dearth of opportunities in her hometown, and she had to play with boys because there were no separate training facilities. Women’s cricket, especially in the suburbs, had seen way too many similar storylines before.

But a few days into the ride, former Ranji Trophy batter Charanjit Singh Matharu, then the coach of the Bengal U-19 outfit, realised they may have gotten their hands on something special.

A year later, it was former India A pacer and senior women’s team coach Shib Shankar Paul’s turn to be taken aback by Richa’s six-hitting abilities. “At her age, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to generate that much power,” Maco andas Shib Shankar is lovingly called, says.

Even the chatter among all the local division players at the Eden Gardens those days was about this 13-year-old girl from Siliguri, who could smack the ball into oblivion. “ Khub jore maare,” they would say, which roughly translates to “She hits the ball really hard.”

A time jump of approximately ten years will land us in the present. Shib Shankar is now the senior Bengal men’s fast-bowling coach. On Monday, November 3, after a bad day on the field, the tension during the team meeting in Agartala is palpable. But Shib Shankar is distracted by the barrage of video call requests he is being bombarded with.

A pleasant distraction

Just as the meeting is done, he hurriedly picks up the phone. Richa is on the other side of the screen. Not just the once-a-medium-pace-bowling-all-rounder-turned-wicketkeeper-batter from Bengal, Richa, but now also the first-ever senior World Cup winner from the State, Richa. India had just beaten South Africa by 52 runs to clinch a historic first Women’s World Cup win the night before.

And in that moment, Shib Shankar seemed to have forgotten all about the men’s team’s faux pas on the field earlier that day. If this reporter wasn’t imagining things, there were a few happy tears as well, clinging on for their dear lives so as to not run down his cheeks.

“You wouldn’t believe how extremely happy I am. It is not my student who has succeeded; it is my daughter. The person to whom I have thrown balls for as long as I can remember has now conquered the world. My family and the entire fraternity are so proud. Credit to her father (Manabendra), who made the trip to Kolkata, stayed by his daughter in dingy Sealdah hotels, and brought her for practice every morning and then back in the evening,” Shib Shankar tells Sports starsfinding it difficult to thread a sentence together in sheer joy.

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When asked if Richa’s success feels like a personal victory, Shib Shankar says, “No. The victory is hers and hers only. I just want to feel the happiness she is feeling right now. We all have our own sweet little Richa Ghosh story now… me, her friends, and even the driver who used to bring her down to the stadium. She has made all of us proud.”

“My 12-year-old daughter and four-year-old son are proper Richa Ghosh faithfuls. My wife and elder sister have accepted her as my other daughter. Celebrations are in order, obviously, once she is back. Richa called my children from the ground itself when she won. Yesterday, my son called me late at night to ask whether I had seen that Richa Of had won.”

Once the call ended, Shib Shankar shared a bit of how their own conversation went while he was climbing up the stairs of the Maharaja Bir Bikram Stadium. “I congratulated her. Of course, she hasn’t slept the entire night. None of the other team members have. It has been a long wait of 52 years. This moment won’t come back. It’s a different feeling altogether.”

Scripting records through a fracture

Richa, having scored 235 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 133.52, entered her name on multiple pages of record books as well. First, she surpassed Harmanpreet Kaur by hitting 12 sixes, the most by an Indian woman ever in a single edition of the tournament. Additionally, she was the highest run-scorer in the death (overs 41-50), amassing 185 runs at a strike rate of 165.17, thereby stamping a hallmark on her finishing abilities. Her fiery 77-ball 94 against South Africa in the league stage is the highest score by a No. 8 batter in Women’s ODIs. The innings was pivotal in India’s recovery from 102 for six to eventually score 251. During the course of the tournament, the 22-year-old also became the fastest Indian woman to reach 1,000 runs in WODIs (by balls faced).

Additionally, it turns out she played the knockouts with a hairline fracture on her left-hand middle finger! She sustained the same while collecting the ball behind the sticks during the game against New Zealand.

“The middle finger of her left hand had a hairline fracture ahead of the semifinal, yet she batted through it. She endured that pain, and that tells us about her immense mental strength. I had told her, irrespective of where she batted, she needed to trust each shot of hers, and she continued to do that,” Shib Shankar reveals.

Interestingly, Richa has come out to bat in all positions between five and eight in this World Cup. But that never affected her undying hunger to score runs, indicating she has a mature head on those young shoulders.

“In a world where everyone is analysing where each player is strong and where a player can’t hit, you need to adapt, develop, and change. Otherwise, you will fall off the radar. Only Richa would know how she fine-tuned her technique. What we are seeing now is the end product. She has practised seven hours, day in and day out. If you are honestly hardworking, you will definitely see results,” says Shib Shankar.

Lastly, Shib Shankar sees this win as one for women’s cricket. Harmanpreet Kaur’s girls crossed the finish line in a marathon that was flagged off by the likes of Mithali Raj, Anjum Chopra, and Jhulan Goswami.

“Every State women’s team has become very active. They have masseurs, trainers, analysts… something that hadn’t been there not too long ago. Trainers are licensed now; they have to pass NCA exams. Every aspect is now studied extensively, and informed decisions are taken. Every woman on this team will inspire the future generations. People are now wearing jerseys saying ‘Smriti,’ ‘Jemimah,’ and ‘Richa’ on the back. I have never seen such things happen before. Around 40,000 people watching women’s cricket was never thought of. India is a sports-loving country, so we won’t possibly stop here; we will keep taking giant strides.”

Published on Nov 04, 2025