Both players have made significant contributions to Indian cricket.
India did the unthinkable in Navi Mumbai on Thursday, beating the mighty Australians in the semi-final. As a result, they set up the Final clash against South Africa, at the end of which the Women’s World Cup will crown a new champion. Jemimah Rodrigues was at the epicentre of all the buzz, as her prolific knock of 127* steered India home.
Australia’s tally of 338 in the first innings was humongous. Add to that the pressure of a semi-final clash, and the job looked nearly impossible. But as India’s head coach Amol Muzumdar orated, the Women in Blue needed to score just one run more than the Aussies. And they did! Apart from Jemimah Rodrigues, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur, Richa Ghosh, Deepti Sharma and Amanjot Kaur stepped up.
However, one thing stood out for the youngster from Mumbai, who stole the show that night. Her knock was nowhere close to aggression. She toyed with the Australian bowling and slowly took the game away from the visitors, run by run. It was like slow poison, being injected into the veins of the Aussies, till the final run was scored and the stadium erupted in joy.
If one has a closer look at how Jemimah Rodrigues paced her innings, and the way she held her composure in the semi-final, it said a lot more than just the 127* runs she scored. To be honest, her knock showed all the traits of a fine leader, and it had nothing to do with the runs.
The youngster from Mumbai walked in to bat when opener Shafali Verma fell early in the innings, after scoring two boundaries. A determined Jemimah raced towards the pitch, after not knowing that she was going to bat at No.3. It was a slow start to the innings. Slowly and steadily, the batter from Mumbai kept the scoreboard ticking alongside Smriti Mandhana, before the latter fell to an edge down the leg.
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Skipper Harmanpreet Kaur walked in to bat at 59/2, inside the powerplay. Right from when they started stitching a partnership, Jemimah Rodrigues kept her head down and just went with the flow. No reaction came out of her after a boundary, or even after missing out on one. She completed her fifty steadily, but there was no reaction, no celebration.
The partnership grew stronger, with Harmanpreet slowly starting to put her foot on the accelerator. At the other end, Jemimah stayed put, grabbing singles and the odd boundary that she could. She kept raising her thumb after every delivery to encourage her partner throughout the innings, which is a great sign. The youngster possessed a calm head on her shoulder, which is extremely rare these days.
Jemimah Rodrigues completed her century when the game hung in the balance. It could have gone either ways. Still, no celebration. The message was loud and clear. To her, the century was when India won the game. Some centuries could mean beyond a 100 runs, and for Jemimah, it was that feeling.
To sum it up, her innings in the semi-final had all the traits of a great leader. Composed, determined, calm under pressure and keeping the team ahead of herself. Smriti, on the other hand, also possesses the credentials to be a good leader, but age is on Jemimah’s side and India can give a longer rope to the youngster in terms of building a super side for years to come.
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