On July 24, two Indian women made the country proud in different parts of the world. In Tokyo, Mirabai Chanu won a silver medal in 49kg weightlifting giving India its first-ever medal in weightlifting after a wait of 21 long years and going West, Jemimah Rodrigues scored a blistering 92 not out off 43 balls in the UK to become the highest run-getter in an innings in the ongoing Hundred.
The Mumbai batter, who opened the innings for Northern Superchargers against Welsh Fire at Leeds, tore apart the opposition bowling as she hammered 17 boundaries and a six in her entertaining knock. Out of the 131 runs required to win the match, the 20-year old muscled an unbeaten 92 to single-handedly take her side home. With her fluent strokeplay, she made a complete mockery of a relatively par score as she led the chase and achieved the target with 15 balls to spare.
Innings of the tournament from Rodrigues.
What a knock 😍🙌#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/zdSvL67tAH
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 24, 2021
Rodrigues remained unscathed despite wickets falling around her. There was determination in her eyes and conviction in her action which helped her go the distance. Coming from a lull patch during the India-England series, doubts were raised over her ability with the bat. The otherwise regular feature in the T20Is for India, Rodrigues did not find a place in the first XI, because of her poor form.
The Lone Fighter 🔥🔥@JemiRodrigues , Take a bow 🙌🙌#TheHundred #TheHundred2021 pic.twitter.com/ozoZkHHKum
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 24, 2021
On Saturday, she showed the world that she is made of steel and proved that “Form is temporary but class is permanent”. It was a typical Rodrigues’ innings where she tailored her shots to find the gaps in the field. A perfect blend of prompt running between the wickets and calculated aggressive strokeplay characterized her stellar knock.
There is seldom any doubt that the match-winning innings will give her truckloads of confidence going into the tournament ahead. It was disheartening to see her devoid of runs in the past couple of series for India but this knock has certainly shown that she has the talent and ability to perform at the highest level. Not only Jemimah but also her ardent supporters have definitely heaved a deep sigh of relief.
Watch the Video here – Jemimah Rodrigues scoring 92 Runs off just 43 Balls
In case you missed that GEM of an Inning from Jemimah, you know what to do now 👇 pic.twitter.com/EY9rYDJR4M
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) July 25, 2021
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.
