For the longest time, people have said that all she does is make fancy reels, that she is more a social media phenomenon than a cricketer. That she had talent has always been known. Tonight was when all of it came to light, and Jemimah Rodrigues helped vanquish the world’s greatest-ever women’s cricket team. Coming into bat early on after Shafali Verma was dismissed, Jemi knew she had to stay on and play big. More so when Smriti Mandhana was caught down the leg side.
It was Jemi who took on the role of senior partner in the run chase. She guided the skipper, Harmanpreet Kaur, and just when it seemed that Australia were unbeatable, she made us think otherwise. The Navi Mumbai miracle is real, and the World Cup dream is well and truly alive.
Make no mistake, Harmanpreet played a stellar hand with the bat. It helped her redeem some of the captaincy calls she made. Her brilliant knock helped Jemi and the more the match went on, the raucous crowd played a huge part in India’s win – the 35,000 sounded like a lakh and, all of a sudden, the Australians looked human. Catches were dropped and that helped Jemi.
Richa Ghosh too played a stunning cameo when Jemi looked to be getting tired. But then, that home stretch. When Richa got out, it was Jemi who needed to steer the team home. She played two cracking shots for boundaries, and all of a sudden, the country found its voice again.
The 2017 Derby miracle was yet again in front of us, and this time in front of a home crowd. We still have the final to play. South Africa are waiting. But needless to say, tonight is a time to celebrate, breathe easy and believe that the miracle is for real. This is sport. Savour it. Live it, celebrate it and know this is real, not reel.
Jemi has turned everything around, and is the new cult figure tonight. India believes. She does too.
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