India’s No 3 Jemimah Rodrigues was the hero in the Women’s World Cup semi-final, taking her side to a miraculous victory by four wickets, knockong Australia out after chasing down 339. On the heels of starting the WBBL campaign for Brisbane Heat, Jemimah spoke about the knock and the World Cup win.
It has been a whirlwind week for the Indian women’s cricket team and a few players since the World Cup win, flying from city to city for various ceremonies and recognitions across the country and then there was Jemimah Rodrigues, who flew across continents to land in time for Brisbane Heat’s opening game in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). Jemimah, who was one of the heroes of India’s World Cup win, was in action a week after the final, batting at No 3 for the Heat.
It wasn’t the greatest of the starts for the last year’s runners-up, as they fell short with both bat and ball in the repeat of the last year’s final against the Melbourne Renegades in a rain-affected clash. Nadine de Klerk and Chinelle Henry on her WBBL debut were the highest run-getters for the Heat, scoring 40 and 29, respectively, while the rest of the batting line-up didn’t offer much. Jemimah too got out for just six, as Heat could muster just 133 batting first.
The rain arrived and it reduced the chase for the Renegades to just eight overs. And the reigning champs got to 66 without any issues. However, more than the result, Jemimah, who just flew in on the eve of the clash, went viral for her tongue-in-cheek comment while speaking to Channel 7 on the sidelines of the WBBL opener, joking that she wasn’t sure if Australia still allowed her on their shores after what she did to Australia, scoring an unbeaten 127 in the semi-final, knocking the seven-time defending champions out of the Women’s World Cup.
“I wasn’t sure if Australia would allow me to cross the borders to come here after the semi-finals, but honestly, everyone’s been so warm and welcoming,” Jemimah told Channel 7. “Everyone’s just so happy, in general, for the growth of women’s cricket that has happened because of that win. We know that it’s going to change massively, not just in India, but all over the world.”
Chasing 339, Jemimah held one end up and stayed till the end, guiding India to the highest successful chase in women’s ODIs as India advanced to the final and eventually beat South Africa in the summit clash to win the maiden title.