Copyright latestly
Faith can move mountains, ' a line that has been said and heard quite a few times. What that means is by having strong willpower, resolute focus, determination and trust in the Almighty, one can be able to achieve greater things, even those which seem difficult or probably impossible, in the first place. Jemimah Rodrigues, on October 30, showed what a living example of 'faith can move mountains' looks like. The world stood still and watched in awe as Jemimah Rodrigues played arguably one of the greatest knocks in ICC Women's World Cup history. With the right attitude and belief in the Divine, she went about her work and eventually emerged as the protagonist behind one of the best-ever victories in women's cricket history. ‘Jem’ of the Game: Look at How Jemimah Rodrigues Lit Up the Night and Lifted Indian Women’s Cricket Team. The task in front of her was no less than a mountain--India needed 329 more runs to win in 48.3 overs, more specifically, 291 balls when she walked out to bat. Uemimah Rodrigues, like her teammates, carried the expectations of a billion on her shoulders. The target might seem an achievable goal given modern cricket's standards, but the opposition was Australia. For non-cricket fans, let me break it down for you. If there was ever a way to describe invincibility in women's cricket, it has to be this Australia women's national cricket team. Alyssa Healy and co are the gold standard in women's cricket-they always rise to the occasion and find a way to win. The fact that they have won seven out of the 12 World Cup editions so far is a clear indication of why they are the very best in the business. Another stat that might sound baffling is that Australia did not lose a single Women's World Cup game since 2017--eight years! This just explains how dominant and ruthless the Aussies are in women's cricket. And this only throws light on the magnitude of the feat that Jemimah Rodrigues pulled off. Battling the pressure of a high-octane run chase, that too in front of an expecting home ground, she showed nerves of steel, mastering what turned out to be the most successful run chase in the history of women's ODI cricket. IND-W vs AUS-W, ICC Women’s World Cup 2025: Jemimah Rodrigues Opens Up on Battling Anxiety During Tournament, Says ‘I Used To Call My Mum and Cry’ (Watch Video). Heard the David-Goliath story? David, a young shepherd, slayed a fearsome giant warrior in Goliath, something that no one saw coming. And under the brightest lights at Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai and amidst a thousand 'India, India' chants, Jemimah Rodrigues, just like David, took down the Goliath of women's cricket, writing her name in the echelons of greats in the women's game. Yet, this Jemimah Rodrigues special was not just about her pulling off the unbelievable. Faith can move mountains, yes. But faith can also be pretty hard to find sometimes. Keeping faith can be very brutally testing when one can see only darkness around. That was exactly the case with Jemimah Rodrigues' batting form at the start of the ICC Women's World Cup 2025. A first-ball duck against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the tournament was followed by a 32-run knock off 37 balls against Pakistan. Then came another duck, this time against South Africa and staying true to the pattern, the failure was followed by a 33-run show against Australia in the group stage. Jemimah Rodrigues' inconsistent form saw her dropped against England, with India opting to play a fast bowler, Renuka Singh Thakur, instead. And that was the start of her turnaround. Jemimah herself describes it so perfectly. "It feels like how you watch a Hindi movie and things get worse before they get better, I think it was all this," she said after the match. Jerseys Stained, Legacy Made: Gautam Gambhir, Jemimah Rodrigues, the Number 5s Clutching for India in ICC ODI World Cup Knockouts. Jemimah Rodrigues Displays Her Raw Emotions View this post on Instagram A post shared by ICC (@icc) And thus her redemption arc began. After India's agonising four-run defeat to England, Jemimah Rodrigues was recalled to the playing XI and promoted to bat at number three. And with a point to prove, Jemimah Rodrigues put behind all her failures and stood tall, showing why dropping her against England wasn't a good idea after all. Against New Zealand, the right-hander scored a solid 76 off 55 balls that included 11 fours, propelling India to a 340-run total, one that eventually was good enough for the Women in Blue to win and book a spot in the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 semi-finals. 'Stained Jerseys Are Always Special' Fans Find Similarities Between Jemimah Rodrigues' Century and Gautam Gambhir's 2011 WC Heroics As Women in Blue Enter ICC Women's World Cup 2025 Final. India now find themselves one win away from winning the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 and this was made possible after Jemimah Rodrigues once again standing tall with a match-defining knock. Amid all the applause and cheer at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy, tears trickled down and emotions overflowed as Jemimah Rodrigues spoke after the match. She did not go about speaking about her own greatness but gave credit where it was due while revealing her vulnerabilities and scars openly for everyone to see and learn how tough, but important, it is to have faith in the midst of tribulation. She did not want to bask in the glory but spoke of only wanting to win the match for India. Jemimah Rodrigues Breaks Down After Match-Winning Century in IND-W vs AUS-W ICC Women's World Cup 2025 Semis View this post on Instagram A post shared by ICC (@icc) Jemimah Rodrigues did not shy away from openly speaking about her faith and how it helped her pull off history. "The scripture says," stated an emotional Jemi, 'Just stand still and God will fight for you' [Exodus 14:14 - The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still]. That’s what I did, I just stood there, and he fought for me." God writes the best scripts. And Jemimah Rodrigues' performance was another good example of it. Fortune favoured her a number of times (she was dropped on 82 by Alyssa Healy and by Tahlia McGrath when she was batting on 105) and eventually, she took India past the finish line with God's plan perfectly working out. Will Jemimah Rodrigues' 127* redefine women's cricket like it did in 2017 after Harmanpreet Kaur's 171 against Australia? Only time will tell. Has Jemimah Rodrigues' performance re-emphasised how important it is to have faith? Absolutely yes.
