Indian cricket team star Jemimah Rodrigues has revealed that Virat Kohli’s words about his own match-winning knock against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup in Melbourne were ringing in her ears during her game-changing innings at the recent Women’s World Cup when she dragged India to the final with an unbeaten 127 against Australia. India were chasing a target of 339 runs set by the formidable Australian team, when Rodrigues joined forces with captain Harmanpreet Kaur (89) put on 167 for the third wicket on the way to completing the highest successful run-chase in women’s ODI history. Rodrigues Kohli had dragged India to victory over arch-rivals Pakistan with an unbeaten 82 from 53 balls in a game of the T20 World Cup in 2022. What had been remarkable about that innings was that Kohli had dragged India to victory from being 31/4 at one stage while chasing 160. “I once spoke to Virat Kohli about this. I asked him about that Melbourne knock. I said, ‘You know, this knock is something else… it was a crazy knock. What was going on in your head? How did such a knock even happen?’ What he told me was, ‘You know Jemimah, even if I want to take credit for that knock, I can’t. If you ask me to replicate that knock, I can’t. I was just grateful that God chose me at that moment to be the person to take India through.’ “And when that World Cup semifinal happened, I just remembered what he said. Because I didn’t change anything in my practice. My preparation was the same. Everything was the same, but it’s just… you know, you are just chosen for that moment. And things just happen. I think that was one moment for me where I can’t take credit,” Rodrigues said in an interview for Breakfast With Champions. Rodrigues said that when she was batting in that semi-final against Australia, she had gone into “zen mode”. “When I was playing that match, it was just like… sometimes you go into a ‘Zen mode’ where you don’t know much about what’s happening around you. You are just so focused on, ‘Oh, we just have to win this match and make it happen.’ Usually, you know when you’re about to win—like when there are two runs left in nine balls, you know you’re supposed to cross the line. Usually, I always have a celebration ready—I’ll jump, I’ll do this or that. But until that final run was scored, I had nothing. I was blank. And the moment that ball went for a boundary—Amanjyot hit that shot—I hugged her, I picked her up, and I just burst into tears. I hadn’t planned that. I didn’t even think I would cry. But I don’t know, it was just that moment: a World Cup semifinal at home, in front of my home crowd, with my parents there. After everything that happened over the last month, I think all of that was just bottled up and it finally came out,” Rodrigues said. Story continues below this ad Rodrigues also revealed the mindset that had helped them overhaul the formidable Australian team. “One thing that happened before the semifinal was that when we found out we’d be playing Australia after we played New Zealand, there was a different kind of peace about it. Someone even spoke about it, saying, ‘Actually, Australia is more vulnerable in a semifinal than a final.’ They lost to South Africa in a T20 semifinal in Dubai, and when Harman scored that 171, they lost in a semifinal too. So we were like, ‘Maybe everything that has happened is for the best.’ That was the conversation we had. Rodrigues said: “Honestly, even when Australia scored 339 in the semifinal… when Phoebe Litchfield and Ellyse Perry started batting the way they were, I was like, ‘Man, it’s going to be 400 today.’ Genuinely! I started stressing out a bit because it’s a do-or-die game. It’s a semifinal. I was thinking, ‘How will we chase 400?’ Then I told myself, ‘I can’t control that. Don’t think so far ahead. Just field and let’s see what happens.’ “But then, for our bowlers to pull it back the way they did in the last 10 overs—even against such a strong batting order—and hold them to 339, it became a matter of perspective. I was like, ‘Oh no, I was preparing for 400, but I got a 339 discount!’ It felt feasible. It didn’t feel too bad. Even when I went in, and I think Richa was there, we were like, ‘Actually, they are 20 runs short.’ That was the conversation,” Rodrigues said.
Jemimah Rodrigues on how Virat Kohli’s words rang in her head during World Cup semi-final winning knock
