Indian woman cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues stated that Virat Kohli’s thunder at the MCG on Sunday inspired India’s exciting victory over Pakistan at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in Cape Town.
Rodrigues led her team to a memorable seven-wicket victory with a magnificent 53 not out off 38 deliveries. And thanks to those feats, she was able to replicate Virat Kohli’s similarly crucial effort against the same opponent in the men’s championship last year, anchoring India to a thrilling four-wicket victory in Melbourne with an incredible 82 not out off 53 balls.
According to Rodrigues, playing against Pakistan gave their Group B matchup an extra edge, and memories of watching Kohli helped India win the game. The 22-year-old said, “India vs Pakistan matches are always a little bit more special – we spoke about it in the team meeting. Growing up we always watched these matches. I remember watching the match at the MCG where Virat Kohli played such an extraordinary knock.”
Rodrigues entered the competition with a poor run of form, but on Sunday, she exorcised those demons with the help of wicketkeeper Richa Ghosh (31 not out). In her previous 10 international T20 innings, she had only recorded one score of more than 30, but she recovered against her country’s longtime foes.
“This inning means a lot to me – I hadn’t been getting scores for a long time. As a batter when you’re not getting scores, it’s definitely not an enjoyable time. I was working really hard in the nets, I knew I was ticking all the boxes, putting in the effort and going to the gym. It was very tough but when it mattered the most, it came, so it was very special for me.”
