T20 World Cup 2023: Jemimah, batters bail India out in a game of two halves vs Pakistan

With 10-3 head-to-head against arch-rivals Pakistan, India were expected to finish the job without a hiccup in their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 opener at Cape Town. But what the stats don’t reveal is that the head-to-head stands at 4-2 in favour of India in the T20 World Cups. In fact, Pakistan had also defeated India in their last encounter in Asia Cup in 2022. With the ability to stun India at the biggest stages, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co in all likeliness had a banana skin to deal with in their first game despite the gulf in class between the neighbouring countries. And so it proved. With one of the worst dot ball percentages, quick scoring, especially in the powerplay, has been a bane for the Pakistan team, but on Sunday there was a renewed vigour in their approach with captain Bismah Maroof leading from the front. Ordinary bowling, poor fielding On a slow surface where the ball gripped, it was important to maximise the powerplay but to do so something extraordinary was required. Maroof found that extraordinary in sweep shots as she tackled the Deepti Sharma challenge. Usually, the Indian is a mean operator in the powerplay, but Maroof’s sweeping skills forced the off-spinner to go fuller instead of sticking to her preferred length and as a result, she conceded 26 in her first three overs. Maroof, though, did not find the required support from the other end but to her credit, she kept the runs comings from one end. She found that partner in Ayesha Naseem who joined the skipper in the middle in the 13th over.

Bismah Maroof, take a bow! She played the role of anchor, strike-rotator and accelerator in the same innings. 68* off 55 balls from a position where Pakistan were in deep trouble, provided Ayesha the opportunity to go big too 👏 #T20WorldCup #INDvPAK

(📸: @ICC) pic.twitter.com/VqTGHmdGet

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) February 12, 2023

With her ability to hit big shots, Ayesha soon became the main source for run scoring and smacked Renuka Singh for 18 runs in an over as the Indian pacer erred with her line. Trying to bowl outside off and away from Ayesha’s range, Renuka gave away three wides in the over. Even the Indian fielding which was on point till then, shed opportunities as Ayesha was dropped twice in the last two overs with the second one also resulting in a six. Eventually, Pakistan scored 58 in the last five overs and posted their highest ever total against India - 149/4. Jemimah’s redemption It wasn’t the steepest of targets, but 150 or 150+ chases had only been achieved once in tournament history. Strange things have happened at the biggest stage and Pakistan could sense blood when India were reduced to 65/2. Soon skipper Harmanpreet became the next victim. At that moment, India still needed 57 off 39 balls. There was a need for calmness and some quick run-scoring. What followed next was a 58-run unbeaten stand between Jemimah Rodrigues and Richa Ghosh leading India to a seven-wicket win. While Richa scored 31* off 20 and helped India snatch the momentum from Pakistan, Jemimah was the player of the match for her 53* off 38 that took India home.

India still had Deepti Sharma and Pooja Vastrakar waiting in the dugout, but the way the Jemimah-Richa duo handled the pressure in the middle and finished the job spoke for their calibre. Richa, only 19, recently won the inaugural Under-19 T20 World Cup and is a future superstar. Jemimah, on the other hand, is writing her own redemption story. Considered one of the most elegant batters in the lineup, the Mumbai batter had a horrid time in 2021; scoring just 22 runs in five ODIs that eventually led to her being dropped for the 2022 World Cup. “Yeah, I think this time last year where I was at home and I was not in a good headspace because it was dropped from the 50 World Cup. That was the toughest time for me,” 22-year-old Rodrigues revealed in the press conference after the Pakistan game. Popular for her wit on social and her skills with the guitar, Jemimah’s T20I numbers were also middling by then. But a lot has changed in the last year. With a calendar year high average of 39 in the shortest format in 2022, the right-hander has become a regular in T20Is with the new management giving her a long rope despite some loss of form leading up to the World Cup and she repaid the faith on Sunday.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜! ☺️

Well played, @JemiRodrigues 👏👏#TeamIndia | #T20WorldCup | #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/CWbl2BtOP8

— BCCI Women (@BCCIWomen) February 12, 2023

What also worked for Jemimah was how she dealt with her absence from the team in 2022. Playing in Mumbai’s maidans with boys, challenging herself to come out of her comfort zone, she undertook every challenge possible to return to the highest level. “I am a strong believer in Jesus I knew if he’s brought me so far, he won’t let me down here. I mean it’s just a small phase of the bigger picture he has and that time actually changed me completely I changed the way I practice I changed the way I plan my innings and you know I understood my game better. I understood the value of good relationships at that time and, and, and at the same time it just, you know, it felt like that was that was one of the lowest phase of my life but it turned out to be the reason why I could come here today,” Jemimah shared. Her tenacity and calmness were on full display at the Newlands as she struck three fours in the 19th over, guiding India to victory. For India, it’s a sweet win after a scare and while there are areas where they can improve it should give them the confidence that they can pull off wins no matter what the circumstances. After all, they have been guilty of letting the occasion dictate the results in past. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.