Rodrigues' Historic Knock Gives India a Shot at World Cup Glory

ByVinayakk Mohanarangan The importance of Jemimah Rodrigues’ match-winning innings of 127* againstAustraliain theICC Women’sWorld Cup semifinal in Navi Mumbai on Thursday can be broken into three parts. First, the context. The Australian women’s cricket team simply doesn’t lose often in One Day Internationals. Since losing to India at the 2017 World Cup semifinal in Derby, England – that day due to another incredible unbeaten 171* by Harmanpreet Kaur – Australia have lost just six ODIs in eight years. They won the 2022 World Cup without losing a match; they were unbeaten in this edition too. They are the seven-time champions of this tournament. So by sheer weight of their achievements, it was no mean feat for India to get past them in such a high-stakes clash. On the contrary, the Indian women’s cricket team has often been guilty of collapsing under the weight of high-pressure matches in the recent past. They snatched defeats from the jaws of victory at Lord’s in the 2017 final against England, and against Australia too, have faltered from good positions in the T20 format since. But, if any one team has consistently challenged the mighty Australians, it has been India. Next, the occasion. Chasing a target of 339 had never been achieved in the history of women’s ODIs. In fact, such a high total hasn’t been achieved ever at World Cups, irrespective of gender. So when India walked out to bat, they knew they had to go where no one had gone before in such a high-stakes situation. Then they ended up losing Shafali Verma in the second over, and the world No. 1 batter, Smriti Mandhana, in the 10th. The improbable was starting to verge towards the impossible. And finally, the protagonist. That it was Jemimah Rodrigues who took India past the finish line from that point is special in many ways. In front of more than 33,000 fans who had turned up, it was one of their own who was playing an innings that will be remembered for ages. The Mumbaikar, who also grew up playing hockey, is the product of the city’s rich cricketing culture. Having made headlines as a teenage prodigy with a tendency to score big, it took a while for Rodrigues to crack international cricket in the 50-over format. She was controversially left out of the squad for the last edition in 2022, when India couldn’t even qualify for the semifinals. This time, after a less-than-ideal start to the tournament, Rodrigues found herself watching on from the sidelines in one of the most important matches of the tournament. Against England in Indore, in a quest to add a bowling option to the playing XI, India left Rodrigues out. The hosts ended up losing in a run chase that they had under control for a long time. All these factors combined, Rodrigues’ knock against Australia at the DY Patil Stadium will go down in Indian cricket history as one of the greatest ever. The batter spoke after the match, with tears flowing down along with beads of sweat, about battling anxiety over the past few weeks. She revealed she had been crying almost every day because things were not working out for her as she had hoped. She also spoke of her faith in Jesus and how reciting a line from the bible carried her through. “I kept quoting a kept scripture. Just stand still and God will fight for you.” With a slice of luck going her way too, Rodrigues did exactly that as she stood defiant against the odds and carried her team past the mammoth record. It was vindication for her, after the trials and tribulations she has had to deal with in her young career already, that she belonged at this level. For Harmanpreet Kaur’s side, it is a result that gives them a shot at winning that elusive silverware. For Indian women’s cricket, it is a result that is bound to have a significant impact at the grassroots level. As Rodrigues said in an interview with Sky Sports earlier this year, 2017 created a boom for the game as suddenly more girls started taking up the sport at the school level. That impact is bound to get multiplied now as this win came at the most significant centre for women’s cricket in India at the moment.