JEMIMAH RODRIGUES

 

It was euphoric.

Times of India of 31stOctober2025 flashed the heady news on the front page with a picture of Jemimah Rodrigues holding her hands stretched skywards  and her eyes overflowing with tears of joy.

GEM-IMAH TAKES INDIA TO WC FINAL

"I want to thank Jesus...my mom, dad and coach and every single person who believed in me....I have almost cried every day through this tour. Not doing well mentally, going through anxiety. Towards the end, I was just quoting from the Bible - to just stand still and that God will fight for me."

The report went on:

Jemimah Rodrigues hit an unforgettable, unbeaten 127 as India (341/5) pulled off a world record chase against Australia (338) to hand the defending champs their first defeat in an ODI World Cup match since 2017 and knock them out of the tournament. The women in Blue will now take on South Africa in the final on Sunday, 2ndNovember2025

JEMIMAH RODRIGUES  THE MATCH WINNER

In the 33rd over of the chase, Jemimah had run out of gas. Batting on 83, having been on the field for 50 overs before that, Jemimah  slog swept Alana King – a shot born of weary limbs, a mind under pressure, emotions pressure-cooked – straight up in the air. Alyssa Healy ran across and failed to hold on.

Jemimah took a moment, and scripture came to her: Stand still and God will fight for me. This was not a desperate cry for help although that would have been perfectly justified in a moment when body, mind and soul have been stretched to the limit. It was Jemimah recognizing a moment, placing herself in the larger scheme of things and becoming the vehicle that would deliver.

Jemimah stood tall, for three hours and thirteen minutes, facing 134 balls for her unbeaten 127 in a World Cup semi final against the best team of all time. She celebrated neither her 50 nor her 100, because Jemimah was in the zone. This was no longer about her. It was about doing what was needed for the team and the country.

Her single minded focus was on hunting down the target.  When Deepti Sharma and Richa Ghosh played precisely the knocks the team needed in the moment with their blinders, it unlocked a second wind in Jemimah that allowed her to tap into reserves she may not have known that existed in her till then.

Jemimah’s presence at the crease – busy, purposeful, defiant, dogged, calm and charged up – more than sealed one end up. She was successfully turning the tables on India’s perennial weakness – the lack of mental toughness to win key moments – that opened up with the fall of Harmanpreet Kaur.

Jemimah willed herself to go on with the mental toughness that puts mind over matter. It was not overcoming the challenge through sheer will alone. It was self empowerment through surrender to the strength of Jesus, her savior. Jemimah was her 100% self who connected with the God of her choosing, of her imagination and not an ephemeral power.

She channeled her fight into an innings for history books. She endured and .reached a place from which she could thank her parents in front of the entire world in the greatest moment of her life. The tears of relief streaming down did not blind her to the struggles she had faced.  She thanked her teammates for checking on her, for standing silently at her net sessions, for believing in her when she couldn’t.

In the post match conference she said, “I have cried almost every day through this tour. I was not doing well mentally. I’ll be very vulnerable here. Someone who is watching this might be going through the same thing. Nobody likes to talk about their weaknesses. I used to call my mum and cry, letting it all out. When you are going through anxiety, you feel numb. You don’t know what to do. You are trying to be yourself.”

“I am so blessed to have friends, I can call family. I didn’t have to go through it alone. And it’s okay to ask for help. My family went through a lot. But my mum and dad supported me, stood by me and believed in me when I couldn’t. Sometimes all you need to do is to hang in there and things fall into place. I am very grateful to those who believed in me and understood me. I know I couldn’t have done it alone.”

During her century in the semifinal, Jemimah was often seen dropping to her knees.  She revealed these were moments of silent prayers, smiling through tears. “I was praying. I was talking to God. I did it because I feel I have a personal relationship with Him.  When I can’t carry myself, He always carries me.  I was talking to myself because I had lost a lot of energy. I was feeling very tired. It was a tricky phase. I was wondering whether I should hit out. The learning was to stay there. I played to make sure India won. That was my sole motivation. My thought process was simple. I just had to be there till the end. When you play for the team, not yourself, God favors you.”’

No male cricketer has displayed this level of strength through vulnerability in the public glare and Jemimah has set down the marker. On the field and off it, she lifted everyone around her with her fierce strength and gentle wisdom.  Jemimah touched the world and changed the universe, all by her tiny self. She is just too humble to realize it now.

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Based on the report by Gaurav Gupta and the article in the editorial folio, ‘Jem of a Player & Person’ by Anand Vasu, sports commentator, in the Times of India of 1^st November2025.