Humming along the cricket tunes, the journey of India’s multi-talented superstar, Jemimah Rodrigues
A dynamic and technically sound batter hailing from Bhandup, Mumbai, Jemimah Ivan Rodrigues was born on 5th September 2000 and turns 24 today. The day is also celebrated as Teachers Day in India in the memory of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishna. She started playing season-ball cricket at the tender age of four. Her family later moved to Bandra in order to provide her with better training facilities.
Her journey at the grassroots level
She showed a lot of promise and potential right from her Shivaji Park days. She grew up playing cricket alongside her brothers Enoch and Eli. Her father Ivan Rodrigues being a junior coach in her school helped her cause in terms of improving her technique. At around 11 years old, she was picked up in the Mumbai under-19 team. At the age of 17, she was leading Mumbai’s Under-19 team in the 2017-18 season.
Captaincy seemed to have brought the best out of her as she smashed a whopping 178 against Gujarat, followed by a double century against Saurashtra. She became only the 2nd Indian woman after Smriti Mandhana to achieve this remarkable feat at the Under-19 level, making her the talk of the town. An India call-up wasn’t far away for the batting maestro.
India Debut:
She made her India debut as a 17-year-old prodigy on 13th February 2018 in a T20I against South Africa in the 1st T20I at Potchefstroom. She became the fourth youngest Indian (at the time of her debut) to make her T20I debut.
A month later, she made her ODI debut on 12th March 2018 against Australia in the 1st ODI at Vadodara.
Her T20I Career:
She recently became the youngest woman to reach 100 T20I appearances at 23 years and 327 days, surpassing her fellow teammate Smriti Mandhana (26 years and 83 days). She achieved this remarkable landmark in the ACC Women’s T20 Asia Cup Final against Sri Lanka on 28th July 2024. India ended up as the runners-up of the tournament courtesy of an 8-wicket defeat in the final.
She has scored over 2,000 runs (2074 runs) at a decent strike rate of 114.26 and an impressive average of 30.50 in 87 innings. Her tally of runs includes 11 half-centuries and a high score of 76 against Sri Lanka on 1st October 2022 in Sylhet in the Women’s Asia Cup 2022. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she also picked up one wicket with the ball against Bangladesh in July last year.
T20 World Cup Performances:
She has been a part of three T20 World Cup campaigns, (2018, 2020, and 2023), the upcoming 9th edition of the tournament is going to be her 4th T20 World Cup appearance for India. She has scored 339 runs at a strike rate of 111.88 and an impressive average of 26.07 in 15 innings. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries. She has a high score of 59 (45 balls) against New Zealand on 9th November 2018 in the 1st match of the 6th edition of the tournament.
However, the previous edition (2023) of the Women’s T20 World Cup was one of her best performances. As she was the 3rd highest run-scorer for India (after Smriti Mandhana and Richa Ghosh) with 129 runs to her name at an impressive strike rate of 135.78 and an average of 32.25 in five innings. One of her best performances in the tournament came against Pakistan when she stayed unbeaten on 53* (38 balls), scoring at a brisk rate to guide her side over the line in a high-octane clash against the arch-rivals. She played a crucial role in helping India start their World Cup campaign on a high note.
Her ODI Career:
She has scored over 700 runs (710 runs) at a strike rate of 75.53 and a decent average of 27.30 in 29 innings with the bat so far for her side in the format. Her tally of runs includes five half-centuries and a high score of 86 in the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh on 19th July 2023. Apart from her exploits with the bat, she has also picked up 5 wickets in four innings with the ball. Her best performance with the ball came in the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh, when she returned with her career-best, exceptional match figures (3.1-0-3-4) with the ball. She was awarded the Player of the Match for her exceptional all-round performance (86 off 78 balls) with the bat and a four-wicket haul with the ball to level the series.
She hasn’t played an ODI World Cup for India as she missed out on a spot in the squad in the 2022 edition of the Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand.
Her Test Career:
She made her debut for India in the red-ball format on 14th December 2023 against England at the DY Patil Stadium. She has scored 235 runs at a strike rate of 65.64 and a sensational average of 58.75 in three matches so far. Her tally of runs includes three half-centuries in five innings, including a half-century on debut against England. She has a high score of 73 (121 balls) against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium on 21st December 2023 in a one-off Test match.
Her time at the Franchise Level:
WPL and Women’s T20 Challenge:
She has been a popular player in franchise cricket, representing multiple franchises across leagues around the world. She was a part of the Supernovas and the Trailblazers in the Women’s T20 Challenge, a former domestic tournament in India. She was picked up by Delhi Capitals in the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in 2023. It is the first-ever Women’s franchise league in India.
She has scored 361 runs at an impressive strike rate of 143.82 and an impressive average of 32.81 in 16 innings across the two seasons so far for the franchise. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries. Her best performance with the bat for her franchise came on 5th March 2024 in the 12th match of the season against the defending champions Mumbai Indians led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur. She scored a blazing unbeaten half-century (69* off 33 balls) playing a crucial role in helping her side get over the line. She was also awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant match-winning performance with the bat.
She was the 3rd highest run-scorer for her side in the 2nd edition of the tournament with 235 runs to her name at a strike rate of 153.59 and an average of 39.16 in 9 innings with the bat. However, her side led by skipper Meg Lanning ended up as the runners-up of the WPL on both occasions so far.
The Women’s Hundred:
She has also represented the Northern Superchargers in the Women’s Hundred, a domestic franchise tournament in England. She has scored 453 runs at a strike rate of 137.68 and an average of 26.64 in 18 innings spanning across the three editions of the tournament. She missed the 4th edition of the tournament in 2024. Her tally of runs includes four half-centuries. Her best performance with the bat for her franchise came on her Women’s Hundred debut against the Welsh Fire on 24th July 2021, when she scored an unbeaten 92* (43 balls) scoring at a humongous strike rate of 213.95. She was awarded the Player of the Match for her sensational performance with the bat.
Women’s Big Bash League:
In the Women’s Big Bash League, a domestic franchise tournament in Australia, she has played for a couple of franchises, the Melbourne Renegades and the Melbourne Stars. She has scored 333 runs at a strike rate of 116.43 and an average of 27.75 in 13 innings for the Renegades in the 7th edition of the tournament in the year 2021. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries for the Renegades including a high score of 75* (56 balls) against the Sydney Thunder in the 19th match of the tournament on 27th October 2021. She was also awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning performance.
For the Melbourne Stars, she scored 44 runs in five innings with the bat in the 8th edition of the tournament.
She recently represented the Trinbago Knight Riders, a domestic franchise tournament in the West Indies. She scored 105 runs at a strike rate of 108.24 and an average of 26.25 in five innings. Her best performance with the bat came on 27th August 2024 against the Barbados Royals led by skipper Hayley Matthews. She scored an unbeaten half-century (59* off 50 balls) to take her side over the line. She was awarded the Player of the Match for her match-winning performance with the bat.
Women’s Cricket Super League:
She has also played for the Yorkshire Diamonds in the Women’s Cricket Super League. She has scored 401 runs at a sensational strike rate of 149.62 and a sensational average of 57.28 in 10 innings for her side. Her tally of runs includes a couple of half-centuries and a century. Her best performance for the side came when she scored a blazing century staying unbeaten 112* (58 balls) against the Vipers on 25th August 2019.
The Road Ahead for her:
The upcoming edition of the tournament is the 9th edition of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. The tournament was earlier set to be hosted by Bangladesh. However, due to the unfortunate turn of events, leading to unforeseen circumstances in the country, the tournament is now shifted to the United Arab Emirates, and will effectively be the co-host alongside Bangladesh. The tournament will commence on 3rd October 2024 and conclude on 20th October 2024.
Indian Women’s team led by skipper Harmanpreet Kaur will kickstart their campaign in the 9th edition of the tournament against New Zealand led by skipper Sophie Devine in the 4th match of the tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium from 7:30 PM IST.