18-year-old Jemimah Rodrigues has been a revelation in Indian cricket ever since she made headlines for scoring a double hundred in a domestic 50-over game in Mumbai. The right-handed batswoman has made handy contributions in the four matches so far and is looking forward to playing a crucial role in India’s semi-final against England in the ongoing Women’s World T20.
In an interview given to the BCCI, Rodrigues says the past doesn’t matter when India takes on England in the semis. India had lost to England in the finals of the 2017 Women’s World Cup.
“We don’t talk about the past. We want to stay in the present and stay positive. Yes, we spoke about last year’s final but the focus is on the job in hand and how we can do it well,” she said.
When asked about the moment that gave India the momentum in the tournament, Jemimah highlighted the century by Harmanpreet against New Zealand.
She said, “Harry di’s (Harmanpreet Kaur) century against New Zealand and our partnership in that match was special. Also against Pakistan, we managed to put pressure in the first 6 overs and Mithali Raj’s knock stood out. Against Ireland, both our batting and bowling stood out while against Australia we went full tilt and that is what has been key in the campaign.”
“Not be in awe of any team in a big tournament is what I have learnt. Just want to give my best for the team. The second thing that I learnt is how to prepare for a match. If my preparation is good then it will be easy for me to execute it in the middle and that is what I have learnt in this tournament. The third thing that I have learnt is how to enjoy the game. I started playing cricket for this reason and I want to continue enjoying the sport,” Jemimah said about her experience in Women World T20.
Here is the video of the interview:
The idea is to enjoy each game and this is the reason why I started playing cricket - @JemiRodrigues ahead of the @WorldT20 semi-final against England Women.
— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) November 22, 2018
Watch the full interview here - https://t.co/CXCw4AFlwb #WomenInBlue pic.twitter.com/1E7xiBVNSu
India will play England in the first semifinal on Friday, November 23 in the morning.
(With inputs from BCCI/ Hindustan Times