‘Feels like a dream,’ says Jemimah Rodrigues after leading India to World Cup final

NAVI MUMBAI: India’s middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues on Thursday shared that her match-winning century against defending champions Australia in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 semi-final “felt like a dream” after battling anxiety for a month.

Rodrigues, who had been dropped from India’s playing XI ahead of their league-stage fixture, made a grand comeback in the knockout fixture and scored an unbeaten century, which steered the home side to a historic five-wicket victory over the seven-time champions.

After teammate Amanjot Kaur hit the winning runs on the third delivery of the penultimate over, Rodrigues burst into tears, overwhelmed by the emotions.

Speaking at the post-match presentation, during which she was adjudged the Player of the Match, Rodrigues stressed that it was not about her individual milestones but about leading India to glory.

"Today was not about my 50 or my 100, today was just about making India win," Rodrigues, with teary eyes, said after the victory.

"I knew I got a few chances, but I just felt God scripted everything. I believe if you do the right things, with right intentions, he always blesses. I feel everything that happened was just a setup for this. It was really hard, this last whole month. It just feels like a dream, and it hasn't sunk in yet," she added.

Typically a middle-order batter, Rodrigues was promoted to bat up the order in the knockout fixture – a move which paid dividends for India.

When asked to share the insights behind the move, Rodrigues shared that she learnt about her batting promotion just minutes before entering the field.

"I thought I was going to bat at No. 5. I was taking a shower, and when the discussion was happening, I told them 'Let me know.' Just five minutes before entering, I learnt I would be at No. 3,” Rodrigues shared.

"But I didn't think about me. It was not for me to prove a point; it was just to win the match for India because we have always lost in crunch situations. So I wanted to stay till the end to take us through,” she added.

Jemimah Rodrigues then revealed that she was battling anxiety throughout the ongoing tour.

"Last time [in 2022], I was dropped from this World Cup. This year, I came in, I thought, 'OK, I'll try.' But things back-to-back just happened, and I couldn't control anything. I had amazing people around me who believed in me,” Rodrigues revealed.

“I almost cried every day through this tour. I was not doing well mentally, going through a lot of anxiety. Getting dropped was another challenge for me. All I wanted to do was show up, and God took care of everything."

Rodrigues was seen talking to herself throughout her gutsy knock to stay calm before skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and teammates Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh ‘encouraged’ her to carry on, and thus she refused to take credit for her efforts.

"Initially, I was just playing, talking to myself. But towards the end, I was quoting a scripture from the Bible because I had lost energy and I was very tired. I was drained. But the scripture says, 'just stand still, and God will fight for you.' And that's what I did. He fought for me.

"When Harry di [Harmanpreet Kaur] came, all we spoke about was one good partnership. We knew runs were coming. But towards the end, I told Deepti, 'Keep talking to me'. She kept encouraging me. When Richa came, she lifted me up. I am so blessed that when I cannot carry on, my teammates encourage me to carry on. I cannot take credit for this. I know I have not done anything.

"It was hard, but I tried to stay calm till the ball finished. At the end, when I saw 'India win by five wickets', I couldn't stop myself. Navi Mumbai has always been special for me. And I couldn't ask for anything better. I want to thank every member who chanted and cheered even when we were down."