All-rounder Jemimah steers India to win over Bangladesh in 2nd ODI
It surprised many when the selectors decided to leave Jemimah Rodrigues out of India’s team for the 2022 ODI World Cup held in New Zealand. The decision rocked her world. The cricketer from Mumbai went into a phase where she wanted to quit cricket. However, pep talk from India skipper Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant and support of her parents helped her overcome the disappointment and get back to what she is best at. Playing cricket.
India’s Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues fist bump each other during the match( Twitter/BCCI Women)
Rodrigues was fully rewarded for her persistence on Wednesday. The 22-year-old had a memorable outing for India, achieving career-best efforts with bat and ball against Bangladesh in the second ODI in Mirpur, proving her worth as a middle-order bat and a useful off-break bowler.
Playing in tough conditions in Mirpur, Rodrigues proved her mettle with the bat (86 – 78b, 9×4) and then snapped up four wickets for three runs in 3.1 overs, helping India to a 108-run win to level the three-match series 1-1. The performance should be validation enough to be regarded as an all-rounder.
“I am just loving the fact that I am bowling. It is not that I have recently started to bowl. I have been bowling for my state team for two years I have been bowling in the India practice nets. I have been preparing when it comes to bowling in matches. The coach and captain have backed me and the hard work is bearing fruit,” said Rodrigues, who hit her fourth ODI fifty.
Put into bat, India scored 228/8. When Rodrigues came to the crease, India were 68/3 in 21.1 overs with openers Priya Punia (7), Smriti Mandhana (36) and Yastika Bhatia (15) out.
The athletic Rodrigues showed intent as she stitched a crucial 73-run stand with skipper Harmanpreet Kaur to steady the ship. Harmanpreet (52 – 88b, 3×4) completed her 18th ODI fifty, but injured her hand and retired hurt. She didn’t return when Bangladesh chased and Mandhana led the side. Rodrigues continued to play well, adding 55 runs with Harleen Deol (25). She eventually fell to left-arm spinner Nahida Akter in the 49th over.
“It was a challenging wicket, but it was important to adjust to the conditions, stick to the plans, build partnerships, take the team through,” added Jemimah, who said the win gave India confidence after losing the first ODI due to poor batting.
“The Bangladesh team is playing top-notch cricket, whether it is batting, bowling or fielding. The conditions also suit them. They did outclass us in the last game but it was important to get over that.” Jemimah credited coach Nooshin-Al-Khadeer and Harmanpreet for believing in her abilities.
India dismissed the hosts for 120 runs in 35.1 overs. From 104/6 in 28 overs, Bangladesh batting collapsed with Indian spinners doing most of the damage. Leg-spinner Devika Vaidya claimed three wickets. Fargana Hoque (47) and Ritu Moni (27) stitched an impressive 68-run stand for the fourth wicket, but Devika broke the partnership to bring India back into the game.
“It was a great opportunity to bat first and put up a decent total,” Harmanpreet said after the match. “One of me and Jemi wanted to play till the end. Our focus was on rotating the strike. We’ve been batting on flat tracks and were not able to adjust quickly (in the first game). After that, we understood how we had to bat. It will be a good game after two days. We want to finish with a win.”
The final ODI is on Saturday.
