Jemimah Rodrigues has become India`s newest cricket hero after the historic five-wicket win over Australia in the ICC Women`s World Cup semi-final in Navi Mumbai yesterday. It was a moment of cheers and triumph for India, however it was a moment of release and quiet triump after times of emotional struggle for her.
During the post-match press conference, she opened up about her experience hoping it`ll help others, revealing her struggle with anxiety and self-doubts in the weeks leading up to the semi-final match.
She spoke about how her family, friends and fellow team members helped her during this time. Rodrigues revealed, “And also at this time my mom, my dad supported me a lot. And also there was Arundhati (Reddy), who I think almost everyday I`ve cried in front of, almost everyday I`ve cried in front of her. Smriti (Mandhana) also helped me. She also knew what I was going through.”
She opened up about how this anxiety began when she was dropped out of the game earlier in the tournament. But she decided to push herself with quoting a Bible scripture because she was very tired. “Initially I was just talking to myself, then towards the end I was just quoting one scripture from the Bible because I had lost energy, I was very tired. The scripture says, “Just stand still and God will fight for you. That’s what I did, I just stood there, and he fought for me.”
Rodrigues also revealed that she had a clear goal for the game during a team discussion on the eve of the match. During India`s chase of 339, Jemimah was at the crease for almost the entire innings after entering at No. 3 and remained unbeaten on 127 off 134 balls.