Jemimah Rodrigues played arguably India’s greatest knock ever in a World Cup chase, when her 127 off 134 helped India hunt down 339 made by the mighty Australia in Navi Mumbai. While India went on to register its biggest 50-over triumph of 2025 subsequently on November 2nd, and win their inaugural World Cup, the background to the knock added gravitas to the bombastic celebrations of an inning that followed.
Batting alongside Rodrigues was captain Harmanpreet Kaur in a 167-run partnership. And on a night when BCCI honoured its top performers, Harman credited Jemimah entirely for how she had picked herself from the slump and gone on to play one of the all-time great knocks against Australia, when chasing.
“That was a very hard call,” Harman recalled to Harsha Bhogle at the BCCI awards on Sunday, explaining the rationale to drop her premier batter, who as it turned out, kept India alive. “We had 4-5 batters, and one batter was under-confident,” she said of Jemimah’s lean run of scores before she was dropped. Harman said she had been uncertain of the call, but coach Amol Muzumdar had prevailed.
“A small break can give you confidence,” Harman opined, though she was conflicted. “I was still in doubt, but Amol Sir was very clear. As a batter, sometimes you overthink. I’m sure that break gave her time to think. But all credit to her, how she handled it and came back,” the captain said.
Commenting on the historic win, Harman would say the title meant a lot to the entire team. “From Day 1 of women’s cricket, India has had players wanting to win an ICC Trophy. We are happy we were able to do that,” she said.
She recalled the last wait for the final South African wicket to fall, in the finals at DY Patil. “Last wicket we were praying we should go for that wicket, everyone was waiting for the opportunity. The last catch came my way and I’m grateful for that. I’ve taken many catches in my life but obvious will never forget this one.
