Jemimah Rodrigues breaks down not once but twice after historic win as India beat Australia to enter World Cup final

Jemimah Rodrigues, emerged as the star of India women's national cricket team during the Thursday match, held at the Dr DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. It wasn't just her exceptional performance, enduring prowess and zeal that caught the spotlight but her emotional breakdown after the historic win emerged as the ultimate chatter of the town.

Team India achieved a landmark milestone by defeating seven-time champions Australia and registered the highest chase ever to enter the final. In the exciting 30 October match of the eight-team tournament, the 25-year-old came up with an unbeaten 127-run knock off 134 balls. She successfully pulled off an astonishing 14 boundaries to close the chase of a massive 339 runs. With five wickets in hand and nine balls to spare, she played a key role in India's historic semi-final win in the One Day International format.

After the historic victory, she was seen saying, “Thank You" and joining her hands as she broke down. This was not the first time the star of the night was in tears before the jam-packed arena on the memorable night. She was unable to control her tears of happiness when she approached her family for an interaction after taking her Player of the Match title. She embraced warm hugs with family as she celebrated India's entry into the finals.

“Look at the emotions as well for Jemimah. It has been a tough one, a little bit of an anxiety-ridden one. It was great to see how she put her heart on her sleeve,” HT quoted broadcaster Mayanti Langer as saying.

Notably, the all-rounder was dropped from India's league stage fixture against England only to be directly promoted to No.3 in the next game against New Zealand. In the match against the White Ferns, the right-hander scored a fifty.

Bringing out the best in her, it was a 167-run partnership with Harmanpreet Kaur for the third wicket. In the quadrennial international championship match organised by International Cricket Council (ICC), skipper Harmanpreet was another notable player of India who scored 89.

Jemimah Rodrigues' acceptance speech

Jemimah delivered an emotional Player of the Match acceptance speech where she revealed that she battled anxiety after being dropped from the team last year.

Jemimah, who once played for the U-17 Maharashtra, said, “Navi Mumbai has always been special for me. And I couldn't ask for anything better. I would like to thank each and every member who chanted, who shouted, who believed, who cheered," HT reported.

Expressing gratitude, she added, “Everything. And I knew when I was down and out, but for every run they were cheering, it pumped me up. So thank you for everyone who came in large numbers and everyone who supported."

When and where to watch CWC 25 final?

Cricket enthusiasts will be able to live stream the final CWC 25 clash between India and South Africa on November 2, Sunday, from 2:00 PM on OTT platform JioHotstar. It will also be aired on Star Sports Network.

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