Jemimah Rodrigues the beautiful contradiction

Navi Mumbai, Oct 31 (PTI) Jemimah Rodrigues is one beautiful contradiction in which vulnerability mingles with resilience, and anxiety and self-belief co-exist. And so does grit and grace.

Jemimah, that ever cheerful, strong and lively face of the Indian women's cricket team, was crying daily through the ongoing World Cup, battling to keep herself afloat while seeking succour from her mom on phone, after being dropped from the side in the middle of the tournament.

Teary eyed, she opened up her about her struggle with anxiety after playing one of the greatest knocks by an Indian cricketer in a World Cup, against mighty Australia in a semifinal.

Her stirring post-match interviews gave a real insight into the kind of person that she actually is.

Everything she said, moments after her magnificent knock with the bat halted the Australian World Cup juggernaut here on Thursday night, was a far cry from the inanities thrown around by many these days.

"It's okay to ask for help. I'll be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching this, they might be going through the same thing.

"And that's my whole purpose of saying it because nobody likes to talk about their weakness," she said, giving a peek into the kind of person that she is.

Moment of truth =========== In hindsight, dropping her midway through the World Cup was one of the toughest decisions for the team. But for Rodrigues, it was a moment of truth in a career that has seen plenty of disappointment.

Last year, she saw her club Khar Gymkhana cancel her membership after complaints were filed against her father Ivan Rodrigues for allegedly using the club's premises to host unauthorised religious gatherings.

Four years into her international career, she was excluded from the 2022 World Cup campaign in New Zealand and the feeling could have been no different when India, struggling to put together a correct playing combination, chose to look past her against England in the ongoing tournament.

Jemimah, like several occasions in the past including the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal clash against Australia and the 2023 T20 World Cup semifinal against the same opponents, watched helplessly from the sidelines as India floundered in a chase they should have completed easily in Indore.

As an early exit loomed on the World Cup hosts, India went back to the 25-year-old who was determined to put everything behind her and put the team back on track.

The magnitude of her achievement at the DY Patil Stadium on the night of October 30 may take time to sink in. But there are hardly any doubts that it was one of the best knocks played by an Indian at World Cup knockout stages, across genders.

Jemimah's 127 not out against the rampaging Australia will now find its place in the annals of Indian cricket history, equivalent to that "seminal moment" when Harmanpreet Kaur struck 171 against the same opponent at similar stage in the 2017 World Cup.

"She is a very flamboyant person (but) she is also very emotional. She is very passionate about playing, she wants to run but more importantly she wants to win for the team — this is always on her mind," Jemimah's childhood coach Prashant Shetty told PTI.

"So obviously, there was a little anxiety that she had before coming here for the first World Cup at home." Jemimah rose through the ranks in Mumbai to become one of the key batters for India, but the journey wasn't easy. Being dropped from the 2022 World Cup campaign was her lowest point, but it was also a turning point as it "gave them clarity".

"She has seen the setbacks. But from our conversations, she knows we should do what is in our control. Like prepare to the best of your ability. We should have a game plan," Shetty said.

"When you have a small goal, you feel a little calm. But if you only think about the end result, our what would happened to me or why did this happen to me, you don't think about your response for a long time." The diminutive Jemimah does not fret over not being able to bludgeon the ball like some of her peers would.

But she prides herself on being a quick runner between the wickets, a great exponent of the sweep shot, and also one who can dissect the field as well as play that delicate late cut. All of that was on display on Thursday as she flattened Australia.

A ramp shot to begin with may have been slightly uncharacteristic but it did make a statement. It was her way of conveying to arguably the greatest women's team that she was up for a fight.

After reaching her century, a thumbs-up celebration to the dressing room was all that Jemimah did, reflecting her maturity and clarity in an age when many players go overboard while celebrating their achievements.

She later said she was not batting to prove a point to anyone or to herself. She just wanted to see "India wins" flashing on the two digital display boards of the stadium.

Her battles with anxiety and pressure of keeping her place in the team may have pushed Jemimah to the brink but it was not something that she wasn't ready for.

"It's easy to take sympathy. It's easiest to give excuses. But defining your character is most difficult," Shetty said while discussing her initial years.

"We (coaches in Mumbai) do the same in matches. When she was dropped, she used to play with under-19 and under-14 players. You have to make runs at the end of the day, be it on good pitches at MIG (Cricket Club) or Azad Maidan's soft and turning wickets." "It cannot be taken for an excuse that these are boys or the pitch is not good. These are just excuses and this is how you harden up as a cricketer," he concluded. PTI DDV DDV AH AH