A sensational unbeaten hundred from Jemimah Rodrigues (127* off 134) powered India to a thrilling five-wicket win against Australia in the semifinal of the Women's World Cup in Navi Mumbai on Thursday (October 30). Chasing a world record target of 339, India got there with nine balls to spare to book a spot in the final against South Africa on Sunday (November 2). It also halted Australia's 15-match unbeaten streak in ODI World Cups.
Rodrigues had never got an ODI hundred against Australia before and chose the best possible stage for the milestone as she controlled the chase from start to finish. She came to bat early with India at 13/1 as Shafali Verma fell early in the second over of the game. Smriti Mandhana looked fluent for her 24-ball 24 but her 46-run stand with Rodrigues was cut short by a controversial moment in DRS.
Even as UltraEdge showed a spike, there seemed to be gap between bat and ball but the third umpire ruled Mandhana OUT, giving Australia a massive breakthrough. However, Rodrigues motored along and found the able company of her captain Harmanpreet Kaur who dished out a brilliant 88-ball 89.
The 167-run partnership for the third wicket was pivotal to India's chase as the platform was set for the lower middle order. With the dew gradually setting in, India's batters full use of the flat pitch and small ground dimensions to put pressure on the Aussies. It must be said that the defending champions had one of their worst outings on the field, both in catching and ground fielding.
A relatively straightforward chance of Kaur was put down by her counterpart Healy while Tahlia McGrath spilled an easy chance at mid-off to reprieve Rodrigues. Both came at critical moments too, and Australia were too lax by their lofty standards on the field. Kaur, though, fell against the run of play and Deepti Sharma too was run out after playing a cameo.
Richa Ghosh's 16-ball 26 was significant, given that it came at a time when Australia were threatening to ramp up the pressure. Ghosh also didn't carry on but these cameos meant that Rodrigues could work her way deep into the chase. Once she got to her coveted three-figure milestone, Rodrigues calmly upped a gear and put the Aussies back to the sword.
In fact, the Mumbai batter barely showed any emotions on getting to fifty or hundred, and it was only after the game was done that Rodrigues broke down with tears of joy. Australia's bowlers created chances but Healy would be the first one to admit that they were awful on the field.
Earlier in the day, India's bowlers did a good job of restricting Australia to 338 all out after a total of 360-plus seemed like a cakewalk at one point. Phoebe Litchfield's stunning innings of 119 and Ashleigh Gardner's blistering 64* at the back end were the fireworks Australia needed.
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Ellyse Perry made a composed 88-ball 77 but she couldn't quite hit top gear in her innings due to various reasons. Given the platform, Australia would have wanted 350 as a bare minimum but it still needed a world record chase from India to seal the game. And that they did, courtesy of the greatest World Cup innings of all time by Rodrigues.
Brief scores: Australia 338 in 49.5 overs (Phoebe Litchfield 119, Ellyse Perry 77) lost to India 341/5 in 48.3 overs (Jemimah Rodrigues 127*, Harmanpreet Kaur 89) by five wickets.