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Why is Jemimah Rodrigues the Best Choice at No.3 For India in the ODI World Cup 2025 & T20 World Cup 2026? 

Amogh Bodas

Jemimah Rodrigues scored 63 off 41 in the second T20I against England at Bristol on July 1.

Coming in after a wicket going down is arguably one of the most difficult batting positions in cricket. This is not just about the ball doing things that trouble. The innings of a batter at No.3 starts way before they walk out to bat. Sometimes, you’re out there to face the second ball of the match. Sometimes you’re still waiting to come out even after 20 overs. One would love the latter instance to occur frequently, but it is not as easy as it seems. And hence, Jemimah Rodrigues does make a strong case for the position.

Result – t20 – Singapore
Asia-Pacific Cricket Champions Trophy, 2025
Malaysia MAL

55/0

Hong Kong HKG

52/4

Malaysia won by 10 wickets

Upcoming – t20 – Basseterre
Australia tour of West Indies, T20, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 04:30 AM IST
West Indies WI

Australia AUS

Live – t20 – Rwanda
Bahrain and Malawi tour of Rwanda, 2025
Rwanda RWA

21/2

Malawi ML

Upcoming – t20 – Rwanda
Bahrain and Malawi tour of Rwanda, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 04:30 PM IST
TBC TBC

TBC TBC

Result – t20 – Hungary
ECN Budapest Cup T20I, 2025
Romania ROM

178/6

Luxembourg LUX

133/10

Romania won by 45 runs

Live – t20 – Hungary
ECN Budapest Cup T20I, 2025
Hungary HUN

168/9

Austria AUST

74/1

Upcoming – t20 – Hungary
ECN Budapest Cup T20I, 2025
26 Jul 2025, 06:30 PM IST
Austria AUST

Luxembourg LUX

Upcoming – t20 – Hungary
ECN Budapest Cup T20I, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 11:30 AM IST
TBC TBC

TBC TBC

Upcoming – t20 – Hungary
ECN Budapest Cup T20I, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 03:00 PM IST
TBC TBC

TBC TBC

Result – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
Alby Zalmi CC ALZ

88/10

Jinnah CC JIHCC

163/4

Jinnah CC Stockholm beat Alby Zalmi by 75 runs

Result – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
Rising Phoenix RPH

123/6

Marsta CC MAR

150/4

Marsta CC beat Rising Phoenix by 27 runs

Live – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
Jinnah CC JIHCC

68/3

Alby Zalmi CC ALZ

168/4

Toss – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
26 Jul 2025, 06:15 PM IST
Rising Phoenix RPH

Jinnah CC JIHCC

Upcoming – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
26 Jul 2025, 08:15 PM IST
Alby Zalmi CC ALZ

Rising Phoenix RPH

Upcoming – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 12:15 PM IST
TBC TBC

TBC TBC

Upcoming – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 02:15 PM IST
TBC TBC

TBC TBC

Upcoming – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 05:15 PM IST
TBC TBC

TBC TBC

Upcoming – t10 – Stockholms län
European Cricket Series Sweden, Stockholm, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 08:15 PM IST
TBC TBC

TBC TBC

Result – t20 – Gaborone
ICC Women’s Africa T20 WC Qualifier 2, 2025
Botswana Women BOT-W

143/6

Malawi Women MWW-W

78/10

Botswana Women beat Malawi Women by 65 runs

Result – t20 – Gaborone
ICC Women’s Africa T20 WC Qualifier 2, 2025
Eswatini Women EWW-W

40/10

Lesotho Women LSN-W

88/9

Lesotho Women beat Eswatini Women by 48 runs

Live – t20 – Gaborone
ICC Women’s Africa T20 WC Qualifier 2, 2025
Rwanda Women RWA-W

3/0

Sierra Leone Women SLO-W

Live – t20 – Gaborone
ICC Women’s Africa T20 WC Qualifier 2, 2025
Cameroon Women CW-W

Mozambique Women MZW-W

3/0

Upcoming – t20 – Kuwait City
KCC T20 Summer League, 2025
26 Jul 2025, 10:30 PM IST
Gujrat Cricket Club GUJCC

Super Lanka SUL

Upcoming – t20 – Kuwait City
KCC T20 Summer League, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 10:30 PM IST
Chennai Kings CA CHK

Tally Rangers TCC

Result – t10 – Johor Bahru
Malaysia T10 Bash, 2025
Fatemi Resources Cricket Club FRC

122/4

KL Gladiators KLG

108/6

Fatemi Resources Cricket Club beat KL Gladiators by 14 runs

Result – t10 – Johor Bahru
Malaysia T10 Bash, 2025
JB Kings JBK

80/4

Sky Warriors Cricket Club SWCL

106/5

Sky Warriors Cricket Club beat JB Kings by 26 runs

Result – t10 – Johor Bahru
Malaysia T10 Bash, 2025
Utkal Cricket Club UTC

78/4

Maxx Cricket Club MXC

80/2

Maxx Cricket Club beat Utkal Cricket Club by 8 wickets

Result – t10 – Johor Bahru
Malaysia T10 Bash, 2025
MR KB Putrajaya MKP

75/4

MB Malik Sports UMZ MBMS

73/10

MR KB Putrajaya beat MB Malik Sports UMZ by 6 wickets

Upcoming – t10 – Johor Bahru
Malaysia T10 Bash, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 06:30 AM IST
Fatemi Resources Cricket Club FRC

Maxx Cricket Club MXC

Upcoming – t10 – Johor Bahru
Malaysia T10 Bash, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 08:40 AM IST
JB Kings JBK

MB Malik Sports UMZ MBMS

Upcoming – t10 – Johor Bahru
Malaysia T10 Bash, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 10:50 AM IST
Utkal Cricket Club UTC

KL Gladiators KLG

Upcoming – t10 – Johor Bahru
Malaysia T10 Bash, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 01:15 PM IST
MR KB Putrajaya MKP

Sky Warriors Cricket Club SWCL

Result – t20 – Entebbe
Pearl of Africa T20, 2025
United Arab Emirates UAE

141/5

Nigeria NIG

88/10

United Arab Emirates beat Nigeria by 53 runs

Live – t20 – Entebbe
Pearl of Africa T20, 2025
Kenya KNY

126/6

Namibia A NBA

Upcoming – t20 – Entebbe
Pearl of Africa T20, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 12:00 PM IST
Kenya KNY

Nigeria NIG

Upcoming – t20 – Entebbe
Pearl of Africa T20, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 04:00 PM IST
United Arab Emirates UAE

Uganda UGA

Upcoming – t20 – Puducherry
Pondicherry Premier League, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 07:00 PM IST
Villianur Mohit Kings VMK

Mahe Megalo Strikers MMS

Result – t20 – Kabul
Shpageeza Cricket League, 2025
Mis Ainak Knights MAK

154/9

Boost Defenders BDS

155/4

Boost Defenders beat Mis Ainak Knights by 6 wickets

Live – t20 – Kabul
Shpageeza Cricket League, 2025
Amo Sharks ASS

92/0

Speen Ghar Tigers SGT

173/6

Upcoming – t20 – Trinidad and Tobago
USA Women U19 tour of West Indies, 2025
26 Jul 2025, 07:30 PM IST
West Indies Women U19 WIU19-W

United States Of America Women U19 USAU19-W

Upcoming – t20 – Trinidad and Tobago
USA Women U19 tour of West Indies, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 07:30 PM IST
West Indies Women U19 WIU19-W

United States Of America Women U19 USAU19-W

Upcoming – t20 – London
Women’s Vitality Blast T20, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 05:00 PM IST
The Blaze Women TBLZ-W

 Birmingham Bears Women BRB-W

Canceled – t20 – London
Women’s Vitality Blast T20, 2025
TBC TBC

TBC TBC

Match Cancelled

Upcoming – t20 – London
Women’s Vitality Blast T20, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 09:00 PM IST
Surrey Women SUR-W

TBC TBC

Live – t20 – Leeds
World Championship of Legends, 2025
India Champions IAC

84/2

Australia Champions AAC

Upcoming – t20 – Leeds
World Championship of Legends, 2025
26 Jul 2025, 09:00 PM IST
Pakistan Champions PNC

West Indies Champions WIC

Upcoming – t20 – Leeds
World Championship of Legends, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 05:00 PM IST
South Africa Champions SAC

Australia Champions AAC

Upcoming – t20 – Leeds
World Championship of Legends, 2025
27 Jul 2025, 09:00 PM IST
India Champions IAC

England Champions EDC

Live – t20 – Harare
Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series, 2025
New Zealand NZ

180/5

South Africa SA

92/1

Live – oneday – Northern Ireland
Zimbabwe Women tour of Ireland, 2025
Ireland Women IRE-W

232/3

Zimbabwe Women ZIM-W

Rodrigues has got all the ingredients of a good No.3 batter, and India must use her at the spot. How many players can we name in the white-ball formats who have been extremely successful at No.3? Mithali Raj, Chloe Edwards, and Suzie Bates are among the notable names who have excelled at the position in Women’s ODI cricket. A batter coming in at No.3 needs to possess the skills of both an opener as well as a middle-order batter. This is what makes it very challenging. The No.3 can very quickly become an opener if a wicket falls off the first delivery of the game. 

Jemimah Rodrigues – The Right Fit At No.3 in ODIs

India last played a Women’s ODI on May 11, 2025, which was the Final of the Tri-series between India, Sri Lanka, and South Africa. The Women in Blue managed to win the match by 97 runs, lifting the trophy. Smriti Mandhana was adjudged the Player of the Match for her sublime 116. To add to that, Sneh Rana grabbed the Player of the Tournament award for her 15 wickets. The Indians managed to win three out of the four group stage games. As a result, they qualified for the Final alongside their Asian counterparts, Sri Lanka. 

Harleen Deol has been making a good mark at No.3 for India in ODI cricket. She made her first appearance at No.3 in December 2024 and scored a ton in her fifth game against the West Indies. The 27-year-old has piled up 496 runs in 13 matches at an average of 41.33. She possesses a strike rate of 81.84, which is quite healthy for the 50-over format. On the other hand, Jemimah Rodrigues’ best batting position in ODI cricket has been No.5. The young sensation has managed to score 721 runs in 18 ODI innings with a ton and three fifties. To add to that, she averages 42.41 at No.5 and has added great value. 

But here’s the catch. Harleen Deol has scored 58 fours and a six in her 13 innings batting at three. That’s 238 runs out of the 496 she’s scored. In simple words, Harleen Deol has scored almost 48% of her runs at No.3 in boundaries. On the other hand, Jemimah Rodrigues has managed 67 fours and three sixes in her 18 innings at five. In other words, the youngster has scored around 39% of runs in boundaries at No.5.

This data suggests that the Delhi Capitals star is far more efficient in rotating the strike than Deol, who is better in terms of boundary hitting percentages. Simply put, a team would prefer a batter with strike rotation skills at three, because the position requires the players to stabilise the innings as and when required. Moreover, someone like Harleen can be easily used at No.5. That is where her power-hitting skills can be on display, and she can add maximum value to the total. 

The T20 Numbers Game

It would be extremely foolish to apply the same logic to the shortest format of the game. The demands of the T20 circuit are so different from those of a 50-over game that players with complete success in ODIs can come across as beginners in T20s. The 20-over format is too fast. The game is won or lost in a matter of an over. 

Before the ongoing England series, India last played a T20I in December 2024, against the West Indies. In T20I cricket, Jemimah Rodrigues has aced the game at No.3. In 65 appearances, she has managed 1,719 runs at an average of 31.25 with a highest score of 76. She has registered a 30+ score in three of the last six T20s in which she has batted at three. On the other hand, Harleen Deol has batted at three 11 times till now, managing 256 runs with one fifty. 

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The data suggests that Jemimah Rodrigues can up the ante when it comes to scoring at a brisk rate. Moreover, in the most recent T20I against England, Rodrigues scored 63 off just 41 deliveries to help India get to a respectable total. Hence, India must persist with the 25-year-old at No.3 in the shortest format of the game as well. 

Balance, stability, and composure are all you need from a No.3. And Rodrigues, time and again, has shown her ability with the bat in crucial moments for the team. With India heading into all-important ICC tournaments in the next few months, the team would want a lot of solidity. And the answer to all those questions might just lie in Jemimah Rodrigues at three.

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