Indian women’s cricket team’s young batsman Jemimah Rodrigues is in the headlines these days. By scoring a brilliant century in the semi-final match of the World Cup 2025, she has taken India to the final of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup for the third time. But there is also an emotional story hidden behind this victory, which Jemima herself has shared.
Jemima admitted that she was going through severe mental pressure and anxiety at the beginning of the tournament. She told that in the initial matches, she used to call her mother again and again and cry because she felt that she had lost her confidence somewhere.
She said emotionally in the press conference, “I was feeling very weak. Many times I used to cry for hours before the match. My mother and father supported me all the time. Even in the team, my friends like Arundhati Reddy, Smriti Mandhana and Radha Yadav gave me courage. When I was feeling weak on the field, their support was my biggest strength.”
It is noteworthy that Jemimah did not get much success in the first four matches of the tournament. He scored 0, 32, 0 and 33 respectively and was then dropped from the match against England. At that time the team management had included an extra bowler.
But luck changed and he performed brilliantly on his comeback. A half-century against New Zealand and then an unbeaten inning of 127 runs on 134 balls against Australia helped India win by chasing the biggest target (339 runs) in the history of women’s ODI cricket.
After the match, when Jemima hit the winning shot off the ball of Australian bowler Sophie Molineau, there were expressions of happiness as well as relief on her face. She said, “When you go through bad times, you just need to wait a bit, believe in yourself and be with the right people. I got support from a lot of people when I was not able to believe in myself.”
Let us tell you that after this historic victory, the Indian team will now face the South African team, which reached the final for the first time, in the final match. This match on Sunday will not only decide the new world champion, but will also mark the beginning of another golden chapter in the history of Indian women’s cricket.