Women's World Cup: 'Cried almost every day through this tour', says Jemimah Rodrigues after superhuman century in India-Australia semifinal

Jemimah Rodrigues is an emotional person, be it in joy or sorrow. You always know how she is feeling by looking at her face. Moments after orchestrating a world record chase to get India into the third World Cup final, the Mumbai batter was down in tears of joy as her teammates mobbed her with elation.

A few minutes later, Rodrigues was still in tears as she spoke at the post-match presentation on being awarded the Player of the Match award. The one laudable aspect of her knock was the body language and there were no signs of any celebration when Rodrigues got to fifty or hundred. That steely resolve was there right till the end.

"Today was not about my fifty or my hundred, about making India win. Everything that happened so far, was a setup for this," said Rodrigues while fighting the tears.

"Last year, I was dropped from this World Cup. I was in good form. But things kept happening back-to-back, and could not control anything. I have almost cried every day through this tour."

Like Virat Kohli mentioned during his famous run chase against Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup, Rodrigues also stressed on the divine factor pulling her through the moments of tension in the chase. It was almost as if she was possessed while batting and yet showing stunning composure under high pressure.

"I want to thank Jesus, could not do this on my own. I want to thank my mom, dad and coach and every single person who believed in me."

However, till this tournament started, Rodrigues had been mostly batting at five and that's how the World Cup began as well for her before being left out for a couple of games. That said, no.3 is a slot she always enjoyed and her natural game also suited the tempo required for the innings.

Putting her at no.3 was a masterstroke in hindsight but it was also a last-minute call according to Rodrigues. She was mentally prepared to bat at no.5 before a change in plan happened. The rest, as we saw, was history.

"I did not know I was batting at three. Was taking a shower, just told them to let me know. Five minutes before entering in, I was told I was batting at three"

That last-minute plan worked a treat as Rodrigues played an innings for the ages to take team across the line against the defending champions. Rodrigues capped off her speech with a strong sense of spirituality in her words.

"Towards the end, I was just quoting a scripture from the Bible - to just stand still and that God will fight for me. I just stood there and He fought for me."