Jemimah Rodrigues savours ‘dream’ innings after difficult year

An emotional Jemimah Rodrigues paid tribute to those who believed in her during the bad times after she steered the Indian cricket team to the final of the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Thursday.

The 25-year-old Indian batter hit an unbeaten 127 as India completed the highest successful run-chase in women’s ODI history to knock out Australia.

Rodrigues and captain Harmanpreet Kaur (89) put on 167 for the third wicket as India chased down 339 to join South Africa in Sunday’s final.

It was a day of redemption for Rodrigues, who was dropped from the India team ahead of the 2022 World Cup, and then again for the group game against England two weeks ago.

She admits she has suffered from anxiety during the tournament but under pressure, Rodrigues delivered the innings of her life as India won by five wickets and with nine balls to spare.

"I want to thank my mum, my dad, my coach and every single person who believed in me through all this time,” she said.

"The last 12 months have been hard and it feels like a dream. It hasn't sunk in yet.

"Last time, I was dropped from the World Cup and this year I came to try even harder. I have such amazing people around me who believe in me.

“I have cried almost every day in this World Cup with anxiety but God took everything for me. I kept talking to myself and quoting scriptures from the Bible.

“There was a lot inside of me left and I tried to stay calm until it finished. To see the score at the end, I could not contain myself.

"We knew we needed one good partnership. I was trying to push myself at the end and I am so blessed to have teammates around me when I could not lift myself up.

"Navi Mumbai has always been special for me and I could not have asked for anything better. Thank you to everyone who came and supported."

Seven-time Women’s ODI World Cup champions Australia won the toss and elected to bat, with Phoebe Litchfield (119), Ellyse Perry (77) and Ash Gardner (63) helping them to 338.

A late flurry of wickets prevented them from compiling an even higher score but India were brilliant in their reply, with Rodrigues leading the charge by hitting 14 fours in her 134-ball innings.

"I'm very proud, I don't have words to express myself,” said Harmanpreet Kaur, who hit 171 not out to beat Australia in the semi-finals eight years ago.

“I am feeling great. We've been working for so many years. It's an amazing feeling.

"We spoke with each other, we've done this. We have this trust that every player can win any match, in any situation. We made some mistakes in this tournament, but we've learned from these mistakes. We kept telling ourselves to be there for the team.”

Meanwhile, Australia captain Alyssa Healy was left to rue several missed opportunities with bat and ball.

Three Australian players were run out, while they also dropped Rodrigues three times.

"It has been a sensational tournament and it is so disappointing to be standing here right now,” she said.

"We created pressure and opportunities but we were not able to capitalise. I felt the same last year, not going out how we wanted to play.

"We have played some unbelievable cricket and it is about turning up in the semi-final. There is so much to be proud of and every single player's contribution. That is probably why it stings a bit more.

"The beauty of this cycle is that we will see more talent unfold. Our one-day cricket will shift again and we will learn from what we did wrong tonight."

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