Inspired by India men’s victory parade, Jemimah ‘dreaming’ before T20 World Cup

For the Indian men’s team, the month of June was like a fairytale. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma could not have expected for a more fitting farewell in T20Is as the Men in Blue bagged the T20 World Cup title after a long gap of 17 years. The stage is set again, this time for the other Indian team and their mainstay, Jemimah Rodrigues, has manifested similar heights in the Women’s T20 World Cup.
Rohit’s men had got a rousing reception in Mumbai with fans swarming the Marine Drive and roaring their lungs out for their heroes. The atmosphere was surreal, to say the least, as the cricketers waved at the massive crowd with joy in their hearts. Also, last year, Shafali Verma led the U19 team to glory in the T20 World Cup in South Africa, but the senior team is yet to get its hand on an ICC trophy.
Inspired by the girls and the men, 24-year-old Jemimah has dreamt of taking India past the finish line if and when India qualify for Finals Day on October 20 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Jemimah, who has seen Indian women’s cricket go through several ups and downs since she was a teenager, feels winning the trophy would be something special for India Women.
“100 percent. It’s nice to keep dreaming about that, and we do dream about sitting on that bus at Marine Lines. I have played a lot of cricket there and getting crowds there. But more than anything, we want to lift the World Cup for India,” Jemimah told India Today on the sidelines of a promotional event for apparel brand QUA in New Delhi.
“The U19 girls have done it, but it will be the first one for the women’s team. I think it would be a crazy feeling just to do that. Yes, we have taken a lot of inspiration from the men’s team and it was special watching them do what they did, and hopefully we can do that too,” she said.
Playing in three editions of the mega event, Jemimah has seen India qualify for the semi-final every time. But India failed to go all the way even once. While they lost to England in the semis in 2018, Australia beat them in the final in 2020, followed by the semis in 2023. Harmanpreet Kaur’s women failed both times, as Meg Lanning and Co. had the last laugh.
This time around, Australia don’t have Lanning, who pulled the curtains down on her international career last year after captaining the national side to five ICC titles. But instead of scratching their heads over external factors, Jemimah said that India are focusing on building on their own strengths. For the youngster, no team in the World Cup should be undermined.
“Firstly, we are not going to think too much of the opponents we are going to play. We are going to stick to our strengths, work on our preparations and follow our process well which will help us get the desired results. Whichever team, be it Australia, England, Sri Lanka, or Bangladesh, should not be taken lightly,” Jemimah said.
“Every team comes prepared and wants to win the World Cup. So does India, and we are not thinking about our opponents, rather focusing on our strengths. Once we stick to that, everything else will be taken care of,” she added.
In the T20 World Cups, Jemimah has scored 339 runs from 15 matches at an average of 26.08, striking at 111.88. Having notched only two fifties, she got her top score of 59 against New Zealand back in 2018 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
Before taking the stage in the World Cup, Jemimah honed her skills for the Trinbago Knight Riders in the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL). On tough batting wickets, she managed only 105 runs at a strike-rate of 108.24. But her knock of an unbeaten 59 against the Barbados Royals in a must-win clash guided TKR through to the finals.
Batting at No.3, Jemimah’s knock helped the Knight Riders chase down 131 in 19.4 overs. With five runs needed off the last four balls, the right-hander hit Hayley Matthews for a four and then took a single to secure victory for her team. Quite naturally, Jemimah’s confidence has grown since her heroic effort at the Brian Lara Stadium.
“Every knock was very important; it teaches you a lot more and obviously that knock. It wasn’t a semi-final, but actually a semi-final for us. That knock really gave me a lot of confidence and boost. There’s nothing like taking your team through and finishing a match and winning it, helping them reach the finals out of nowhere. So, that knock was very special,” Jemimah said.
The Women’s T20 World Cup was earlier set to take place in Bangladesh, where Jemimah and the Indians have played quite a bit of cricket. But the tournament was shifted out of the country after political tensions gripped the nation. Instead, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the 2021 men’s edition took place, will host the upcoming championship.
In 2020 itself, the Sharjah Cricket Stadium hosted the Women’s T20 challenge. Jemimah doesn’t have happy memories of playing in the UAE after she scored only 21 runs from three games, averaging a disastrous seven for the Supernovas.
Apart from that, she and the other Indian female cricketers do not have a whole lot of experience of playing in the UAE. However, Jemimah said that playing in the CPL has given her belief that she could adapt to the conditions in the gulf country.
“The conditions in the UAE will be very different to what they were in the CPL. The pitches in the CPL were challenging, but adapting well to the conditions gave me a lot of confidence. I know how to play on different surfaces and that will be something I will be taking into the World Cup. I’m very clear about my role in the Indian team, and I’m sticking to that,” Jemimah mentioned.
Jemimah and India will begin their campaign in the Women’s T20 World Cup when they face Sophie Devine’s New Zealand on October 4 in Dubai.
Jemimah recently signed a deal with QUA for their “Modern Heroine” campaign before the T20 World Cup. The campaign celebrates powerful, ambitious, and resilient women who have refined the concept of strength, both in sports and life. The modern heroine is someone who defies expectations, breaks barriers, and inspires the next generation. The shoot captures the Indian cricketer in a way that highlights her personality and determined outlook.