India’s star of the semifinal Jemimah Rodrigues stated she and the team felt they had it in them to chase down the record target set by Australia in the last-four clash of the Women’s World Cup at the DY Patil Stadium, on Thursday.
Jemimah felt the fact that India had chased down some big targets against New Zealand earlier certainly gave them confidence.
“I think when we had this target, the team’s mindset was that against New Zealand we were able to score 341 in 49 overs. Against Australia in Vizag, we scored 333, so we felt we have done it against this team and we can do it and also the way Australia started they were about 30 runs short with the way they were going. DY Patil is also a track where any score is chaseable, so my thought process was that I just had to be there to get those runs,” she added.
Talking about the mental aspect during the incredible chase against Australia, Jemimah delved into her spiritual side.
“I was praying and I was talking to myself and I had lost a lot of my energy because of the tiredness. It was a tricky phase for me whether I should go now or wait and take it deep. I was praying and I feel I have a personal relationship with God and he always carries me.”
Jemimah explained that irrespective of the team, India’s approach wouldn’t have changed in the semifinal.
“I feel whichever team would have come up in the semifinal, our team would have come up with the same reply. We want to play the team and play the moment, we want to play the match and win the match. We would play with the same passion and same aggression to win the match for India,” she added.
The 25-year-old Mumbaikar revealed that her experience in chases against Australia came to her advantage on the D-Day.
“I have been part of chases against Australia and almost three against them. In the earlier games, going well, we got into run a ball situations and we lost it from there. Those moments taught me a lot and I just wanted to be there and finish it off.
The previous day we had a group discussion and we talked about what all we could do better in this World Cup. I felt I want to be there till the end and finish the game because I know if I’m there I can build partnerships,” the India No 3 stated.
“This just feels like a dream actually and everything was just a set up. The last month wasn’t the easiest and I feel it was set up for this moment.”
When asked to rate this innings in her career, Jemimah refused to do that and stated she wanted to win the game for the country and nothing else mattered.
“Actually, it has not yet sunk in for me. I did not play for my hundred or to prove a point at number three and I did not play for my fifty. I just wanted to make sure India win and on that board (big screen) I wanted to see India win,” she added.
