Following a heavy 58-run defeat against New Zealand in their opening match of the Women’s T20 World Cup, Indian middle-order batter Jemimah Rodrigues has urged her team to move on from the forgettable performance and focus on the upcoming clash against Pakistan. Rodrigues highlighted the importance of this match for India’s survival in the tournament, stating that it is a ‘crucial’ encounter for the Women in Blue.
“This would be the game we would like to forget, because this is a World Cup. We need to keep moving on and keep picking ourselves up. We can’t stay stuck at this game. I think that will show the character of this team,” Rodrigues said during the post-match press conference.
Rodrigues emphasized the importance of staying calm and focused on the team’s proven process, which has yielded positive results in the past. “We have been doing really well as a team, sticking to the process and taking one game at a time. We know every game from here is so crucial for us. We’re going to go one game at a time and just make sure we stick to our process. And I think if we can do that, if we play our best cricket, I think we can win matches,” she added.
The 24-year-old Mumbai-born batter acknowledged New Zealand’s strong intent in the match but lamented India’s inability to capitalize on the opportunities they created. “They (NZ) came out with a lot of intent. We did create opportunities, but unfortunately, we didn’t make the most of them. But I think then the way we came back after the start (of NZ) was – I mean not many positives in this game – but still going forward we need to have the right approach because this tournament’s not over,” she noted.
Rodrigues also spoke about her role as a batter batting at No. 4, stating that it doesn’t significantly change her mindset. However, she acknowledged her disappointment in not being able to build a substantial partnership after losing wickets. “Playing at number four…I think it’s not much change for me in my mindset because I know with my game, I’m ready to bat anywhere the team wants me to bat. I was batting well, I had some form going on, even in the warm-up games. It was my responsibility that I should have made sure we built a partnership after losing wickets,” she said.
Addressing the controversial run-out incident involving Amelia Kerr, Rodrigues acknowledged the team’s disappointment with the umpire’s decision to call the ball dead, despite Kerr herself walking off the field after the incident. “I was not there when the umpire gave the cap to Deepti [Sharma]. New Zealand were pretty sure that it was a double run and Amelia Kerr went out which showed that the over was not called out yet. We all thought that we got that run out. What if that run out wouldn’t happen? Would they give us a two for that? At the end, we respect the decision of the umpire and we were okay with that. But yeah, it’s a bit harsh when Amelia Kerr herself walked out, because she knew she was out,” she explained.
Despite the disappointment, Rodrigues commended the team’s maturity in handling the situation. “We know how important Amelia Kerr’s wicket is and at that moment it felt a little, you know, why didn’t it go in our favour? But I think we did what we can. We spoke to the umpire, and then we had to accept the decision and move on. So, I think that’s what we did really well, and I think we got her out pretty soon, so that worked for us,” she said.
