‘Today was about India victory,’ Jemimah Rodrigues on superwoman effort against Australia

Jemimah Rodrigues came up with a sensation 127 in the semis of the Women's World Cup, to take India to the summit clash.

At the half-way mark in the IND vs AUS, there would have been no one around the world, who would have given a chance to India, to chase down the mammoth score. After all, Harmanpreet Kaur‘s team isn’t considered the best, when it comes to handling pressure, that too of a semi-final.

Jemimah Rodrigues the Superstar

But a certain Jemimah Rodrigues stood up, who smashed an unbeaten 127, to take India to the final against South Africa on Sunday. An innings of epic proportions, that took India to something special. She tried, failed, tried again, and succeeded eventually, to play an innings, which is worthy of being called the best in a World Cup.

And naturally, Jemimah was hardly in control of her emotions, as soon as Amanjot Kaur hit the winning boundary. “I want to thank Jesus, could not do this on my own. I want to thank my mom, dad and coach and every single person who believed in me,” the batter said at the post match interview.

Jemimah opened up on how she had been struggling throughout the tournament, mentally, but somehow sailed through. “It was really hard this last month, it feels like a dream and it still has not sunk in. (On when she was told she would bat at three) Did not know I was batting at three. Was taking a shower, just told them to let me know. Five minutes before entering in, I was told I was batting at three,” she added.

Teammates Helped Overcome Australia Challenge

Asked about, why she didn’t celebrate her ton, she had the perfect response. She said, that the innings was not about her, but for winning it for India. In fact, Jemimah also opened up on how she wanted to make this win happen, especially after she was dropped from the team last year.

“Not about me, wanted to win this match for India, and wanted to take this through (having lost crunch matches before). Today was not about my fifty or my hundred, about making India win. Everything that happened so far, was a setup for this. Last year, I was dropped from this World Cup. I was in good form. But things kept happening back-to-back, and could not control anything. I have almost cried every day through this tour. Not doing well mentally, going through anxiety. I knew I had to show up, and God took care of everything.”

Opening up on the chase itself, Jemimah spoke about how her batting partners — right from Harmanpreet Kaur, to Deepti Sharma and then Richa Ghosh, helped her keep her composure. “When Harry di came, it was all about one good partnership. Towards the end, I was trying to push myself but was not able to. Deepti spoke to me every ball and kept encouraging me.”