Jemimah Rodrigues stars as India stun Australia to reach World Cup final

India scored a beautiful surprise win on Thursday, defeating defending champions Australia, to make it to the final of the Women world cup. The national hero of the night was Jemimah Rodrigues who scored an unbroken 127 to help India win the semi-final in the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai by a margin of five wickets.

Having won the toss, Australia had placed a tremendous target of 339 courtesy to a brisk opening relationship and powerhouse performances by Phoebe Litchfield, Ellyse Perry, and Ashleigh Gardner. The brilliant 119 of Litchfield held the innings, and Perry and Gardner, with vital fifties, brought the total score of the Aussies to 338 run out, with a single ball remaining.

It was as though it was another superior display of the seven-time champions, but Jemimah Rodrigues had different intentions. The 24 year old played her life time innings and she scored 14 boundaries as she scored 127 off a still-unbeaten 127 to help India achieve her highest successful chase in the history of women in ODI at a time when she still had 9 balls left.

It seems like a dream, it has not yet become real, said Rodrigues who was named the Player of the Match due to her weeping celebration. We held on to ourselves until the end.

Australia who had hunted down a record score against India earlier in the group stage began well again. Litchfield and Perry wore a 155-run partnership which made the team reach 159-1 in the midway. When dropped on 102, Litchfield carried her hundred off on only 77 balls and accompanied by fireworks on two sixes off Deepti Sharma. She was however bowled finally on attempting to scoop Amanjot Kaur and Australia lost pace shortly thereafter. The 63 by Gardner enabled them to go beyond 300, but bowlers of India put the vice in a grip towards the end of the innings.

The pursuit of India started on a shaky note because Shafali Verma failed miserably at 10 and Smriti Mandhana soon after at 24. But Rodrigues and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur re-established with an excellent stand of 167 runs that drowned the crowd and reversed the game. Harmanpreet had not made her century of 89, but India were safely ahead by now. Rodrigues made Australia pay as he survived two dropped catches at 82 and 106.

Following the defeat, the captain of the Australian team, Alyssa Healy, confessed that they were second best. We had not done well with the bat, we had dropped opportunities and we had not bowled to our best, she said. “India just outplayed us.”

Through this win, India made it to a final on Sunday in the world cup against South Africa a match that would bring a new world champion.

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