Jemimah Rodrigues displayed exceptional grit in WWC 2025 semi-final: Story of her moment of glory

Jemimah Rodrigues’ match-winning 127* in the Women’s World Cup 2025 semi-final stands as a story of courage, patience, and glory.

0, 32, 0, 33 — and then left out. That’s how Jemimah Rodrigues began her 2025 Women’s Cricket World Cup campaign while batting at No. 5. But she returned with a fairytale comeback, redeeming herself and helping erase memories of painful losses to Australia in ICC knockout games.

Recalled for the virtual quarterfinal against New Zealand and promoted to No. 3, Rodrigues struck an unbeaten 76 off 55 balls as India posted a commanding 340/3. In the semi-final versus Australia, she went a step further, sealing the highest successful chase in women’s ODI history  of 339 runs, with a match-winning 127*.

Roller-coaster ride for Jemimah Rodrigues
The short journey in this World Cup has taken Rodrigues through a whirlwind of emotions, both professionally and personally. She opened up about battling anxiety off the field, saying, “I used to call my mom and cry the entire time, let it all out. Because when you are going through anxiety, you just feel numb. You don’t know what to do.”

Being dropped for the England game only made things tougher, but she kept fighting. “I couldn’t do much sitting out… But sometimes all you need to do is just hang in there and things fall into place,” she said.

And she did hang in there, in some style. After her 55-ball 76* at No. 3 against New Zealand, Rodrigues was initially set to bat at No. 5 in the semifinal against Australia. But just five minutes before India began their chase, she was told she would go in at No. 3 again. Rodrigues didn’t hesitate; she embraced the challenge and guided India in a chase of 339 with incredible poise and belief.

Read More: WWC 2025, SF 2, IND vs AUS: Jemimah’s exceptional 127* drives India into their third final

Rodrigues contributes in two crucial stands
She came into bat in just the second over after the early wicket of opener Shafali Verma, and built a composed stand of 46 runs with Smriti Mandhana. When the opener departed, Rodrigues paired up with India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur to stitch a match-winning stand of 167 runs.

Rodrigues’ role in both partnerships was crucial, as her calm presence in the middle kept India’s hopes of pulling off a miracle alive. Mandhana and Rodrigues played out the first few overs without hitting a single four or six between them, before Mandhana struck a six in the sixth over bowled by Kim Garth. Rodrigues followed it up with a four in the same over, and the two began finding their groove. They batted sensibly, without any undue risks, to take India to 55 by the ninth over. However, an untimely dismissal of Mandhana saw India rebuild again with captain Harmanpreet joining Rodrigues in the middle.

By then, Rodrigues had adjusted to the pace of the wicket and the Australia attack. She ensured the scoreboard kept ticking with ones and twos, along with the occasional boundary, while Harmanpreet initially struggled to get going. But with Rodrigues batting efficiently at one end, Harmanpreet was able to take her time before unleashing the big strokes to bring down the required run rate.

Rodrigues takes responsibility of finishing off chase
However, the dismissal of Harmanpreet created self-doubt among fans, reminding them of India’s earlier chokes. But Rodrigues said it was a “blessing in disguise for me because I was kind of losing my focus because of my tiredness. But when Harry di got out, I think that added more responsibility to me that, ‘Okay, I need to be here. Okay, she is out, I will score for her.’ And I think that again got me in the right zone. Then I started just sensibly playing.”

Later, with the middle order, Jemimah Rodrigues rallied to keep India in the hunt as she held one end up to take India closer to the finish line. India’s lower-order batters also stepped up with useful cameos — Deepti Sharma’s 17-ball 24 and Richa Ghosh’s 16-ball 26. Rodrigues gave them the confidence to play their natural, attacking game and not drag the chase to the last over, as happened in the loss against England earlier in the tournament. Credit must go to Rodrigues for staying till the end and finishing the chase.

The knock showcased Rodrigues’ determination, self-belief, resilience, and mental strength to fight through high humidity, a big chase, and an opposition known to snatch victory from any position. Yes, she did benefit from a couple of lucky reprieves — but that does not take anything away from her majestic 127* that has reignited hopes of India winning their maiden Women’s ODI World Cup and erasing the heartbreak of the 2017 final.

Read More: India Women one step away from glory just like WWC 2017; What should be their strategy in the Final?